Naruto:Darkness Unleashed
by Livathian
Summary: The Kyubi was sealed into two children on October 10th. One, the purer side, the other, the evil side. One was pampered while the other was left to fend for himself. And one that one was sent to Blood Prison and became one with his Dark side, he became the Jinchuriki of the Kuro Kyuubi. His name had once been Naruto. It is Menma now. Heir to Madara's mad ramblings.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto as the series is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I have no affiliations with Naruto whatsoever. I make no profits whatsover from the Fanfiction. Please support the official release.

Obito Uchiha sat, silently, upon a steampunk type statue. On its outstretched tongue. His single sharingan eye glowed menacingly from within the confine of his spiraled orange mask. His personal spy rose silently from the side of the statue. His eyes staring seemingly through Obito. **"Madara..."** Obito frowned to himself. That name, coming from Zetsu, was always used in irony and sarcasm. It may have been to be expected. After all, his master had created the being. _"We did as was asked. Your assumption was correct. Orochimaru has attacked and killed the Yondaime Kazekage... _**What is the course of action that you want us to take?**" Obito frowned deeper behind his mask. Orochimaru had tried to be discreet about his dealings while he created his Otogakure No Sato. But the Snake Sannin couldn't escape his eyes and ears. He knew all about the little snakes escapdes after he had betrayed Akatsuki. Obito brought his right hand up, resting his chin upon it. Zetsu waited patiently for Obito's orders as he stared out over Amegakure.

"I expected as much..." Obito spoke in his deep tone. Zetsu remained ever patient as Obito brought both of his knees up, resting his elbows on them, his arms dangling. Obito's eye swerved to stare at Zetsu from the corner of his orange mask. "Orochimaru is a snake whom has repeatedly avoided having its head cut off. He is also a snake with a vendetta. A vendetta against Konoha, and those who reside inside of it. I knew he would attack during their Chunin Exams, I just didn't know what route he would take. But when Oto and Suna began to secretly make their alliance... It gave him away. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to allow him to destroy the village. Allow him burn it to the ground. He would fail either way, but there would be many casualties. We can not afford for one of the casualties to be one of the many Jinchuriki that will be attending. I thought ahead, and had Pein send a few teams of Ame Ninja to Konoha." Zetsu remained silent for a moment as Obito's eye returned to stare out over the drizzling village.

"**And just what are a few teams of untrained Genin good for? **_Now, now, Madara should have our undivided trust in any matter. _**He has our trust, but what good are genin? **_Maybe they're sacrifices for the Jincuriki! _**You're a moron! A sword can tear through two people at once!"** Obito's right hand twitched as his eye narrowed in annoyance.

"That's enough! It's not the team themselves that will make any difference! No, it's the people I sent disguised as their senseis. Akatsuki members, unknown enough, as of yet, to fly under the radar. Konan is there. kakuzu is there. Hidan is there. Deidara, while more well known right now, is there. But, above all, _he _is there." The White portion of Zetu's body widened his eye as the black side made a disgruntled noise.

**"Him? **_That makes a little more sense! _**Shut up! Are you sure about this **_**Madara**_**? If he encounters the right people, he may become enraged. **_Nonsense! He of all people has patience! _**Have you not seen how short that boy's fuse can be!?" **Their constant rambling brought a dark, grim, smile to Obito's face.

"I've never been more sure. Not only will he be able to keeep any important pawns from dying, he can gather data on the attending Jinchuriki. Trust me, there will be _no_ shortage of Jinchuriki in that village this year. And if any one confronts him, _especially_ that meddling snake, he can eradicate them." Zetsu made no further comments as he sat, watching Obito. The man sat in silence before he waved his hand. "Dismissed." Zetsu nodded slowly as he melded back into the wall once again leaving Obito alone. His dark smile remained on his face as he thought about whom the two had been speaking of.

He had been born sixteen years prior, on October 10th. His parents had been the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze, and his wife Kushina Uzumaki. Along with the boy himself the two had birthed a second child that day. A daughter. Obito himself didn't quite remember her name. That day sixteen years ago, Obito had attacked the Yondaime Hokage's wife as she gave birth. He had been under orders from his master Madara Uchiha whom, by that time, was far too withered for battle. He had carried out the plan without any hitches. Easily being able to release the demon from it then Jinchuriki, Kushina, Obito had taken control of it with his remaining Sharingan eye and had turned it on the village. Whilst controlling the demon he had attacked his former Sensei, Minato. Admittedly he had become stronger than the Hokage, but he had underestimated him. The blond man had been able to land a Rasengan on him before severing his connection with the Kyubi. It hadn't stopped the Kyubi from continuing to attack, enraged by Obito's trickery, as the Uchiha fled the battlefield. Minato had thus did what he assumed to be the best possible scenario. He began the Sealing Ceremony, to keep the beast out of Obito's grip once more.

He himself hadn't completed the ritual, however. The aging Sandaime Hokage had been the one to do so. If Obito remembered correctly, the village had held a massive burial ceremony in his honor. Obito's eye twitched ever so slightly as he returned to his original train of thought. As the sealing process began, the purer side of the Kyuubi had been sealed inside of the girl. However, the evil and sinister side had been sealed in the boy, Naruto. Their status as Jinchuriki had been announced to their village. The girl had been worshipped as their savior, holding the purer side of the Kyubi. But the boy was hated immediately. After all, a baby with pure evil sealed inside of him was pure evil himself... Right? The girl grew up, pampered by the entire village. Including her parents. Naruto had been condemned to hell. He was beaten and tortured by his village. His parents paid much less attention to him than their daughter. They tried to make time for him, but their thoughts always seemed to fall on the girl. It broke the boy's heart as he often found himself 'accidently' locked out of his house. Forced to live on the streets. A very rare known thing about Jinchuriki: As they are beaten and tortured and dealt a horrible hand in life, their negative motions manifest into a dark entity of itself within their souls. Naruto had been no different. He had crafted his own Yami Naruto inside of himself.

Time passed by slowly for the boy. Or so he was told by Zetsu, whom spied on the condemned blond. And then, the single action that had been on of Konoha's worst mistakes. Danzo, hoping to get his hooks into at least one of the Yondaime's Jinchuriki children, framed the boy for murder. It was truly unfathomable. The boy had been five, and had never truly showed a violent streak. Nevertheless, Minato had held no choice but to prosecute his own son as a felon before the 'Grand Council', which consisted of the Hokage his advisors and Shinobi clan heads. He had immediately proclaimed his son's innocence and rebutted Danzo's attempt at claiming Naruto. So another verdict had been made for the boy's punishment. He had been condemned to a fate worse than his village. Condemned to Hozukijo, the Blood Prison. Danzo had even pushed the Yondaime beyond his limits, basically putting him in a position where he was forced to seal a Mokuton cage made by an Anbu. Minato watched as Naruto was carried off. He had, ultimately breaking his son.

Upon arrival at the Blood Prison, Naruto had went through standard procedures. That included Mui's speech of how worthless the thoughts of escape were. However, upon seeing the child in his prison, something had changed. If Obito's assumptions were correct, the man had seen Naruto as a reincarnation of sorts. Of his own son whom he had lost a short time before, through means unknown to Obito. He had taken the boy as his own. The blond had always been seen beside the man's side. It was also during this time, however, that Naruto merged with his Yami Self. Another little known fact about Jinchuriki: when a demon is split and sealed into two containers, those two pieces regrow. For instance, if the Shukaku were sealed into two Jincuriki, the two would regenerate until there would be two Shukakus. So, the Yondaime's daughter for instance. Considering she had the purer side of the Kyuubi, it would regenerate using her negative emotions.

However, due to the fact that Naruto merged with the darkness inside of himself, the Kyubi regenerating inside of him had only negative emotions to go on. No pure emotions. As such, it had regenerated into a Kyubi of pure evil. A Yami Kyubi. Obito, nor Madara, could have never fathomed the idea. Upon this, the boy had foresaken his birth name and christened himself Menma. And so, the boy grew in the Blood Prison under Mui's tutelage. The Yami Kyubi inside of him had some interesting effects on the boy's body as he became older. Those changes had included the creation of a new Kekkei genkai. And then Madara's time came to an end. It made Obito realize something crucial. If he were to die through some cause, there would be no one to complete the Eye Of The Moon Plan. No one to carry on Madara's and his Legacy. He needed a heir. Immediately he had set out to find himself one. And it wasn't long before Zetsu had reported his findings of the now former blond Jinchuriki. Obito had looked into the event, studied his and Madara's research endlessly. And, as it seemed, if both had regenerated as normal, either Kyubi would have been unseful to the Eye Of The Moon plan. However, only a Biju with its Pure and Evil counterparts would be eligible for the plan. Menma's Yami Kyubi was insufficient.

Obito had quickly traveled to the blood prison, and whisked the boy away. The man, Mui, hadn't been too keen on letting his child figure leave. It hadn't been anything that Obito's Sharingan couldn't handle, however. And so, Obito took over the boy's training. Admittedly, he had been well along from Mui's own. But Obito had added on top of all of that. With Madara's training methods, and Obito's own. The boy had grown exponentially in his skills. Obito's reverie was broken ever so slightly as he heard the clacking of Ninja sandals. He didn't need to even look up to know who exactly it was. One of Nagato's paths. Yahiko's body if he was to guess correctly. Nagato had immediately formed a bond with the boy whom named himself Menma. Both members of the Uzumaki clan, the red head had taken the boy under his wing just as well as Obito had. And then, Itachi had come along, after slaughtering his clan. By this time, Menma was around the age of eight.

Itachi had taken to the boy just as well. Obito swore he had created a bond to Menma similar to that of brothers. Madara's heir was sure it was Itachi's way of filling the void left behind by Sasuke. The fact that he would never be allowed to bond with his brother. Menma had become his replacement, of sorts. No one could ever truly replace Sasuke in his brother's eyes. Not permanently. But for the time, Menma was. And Itachi had, just like Mui, Obito and Pein, trained him. As he grew under the three men's supervision he mastered their teachings. And as he mastered he mastered their teachings, he also mastered his connection with, what he labled, his Kuro Kyubi. To the point that he could summon the demon as if it were a summoning contract. It was a truly inspiring sight for someone of Obiro's mind set.

Obito released a sighing sound from behind his mask as he stood to his feet, his right eye passing over the body Nagato had sent to see for him. As expected it was Yahiko's body. The man's purple eyes watched him intently for a moment as Obito came to stand next to him. With a dismissive wave of his hand, Obito disappeared in the Vortex of his Kamui. Pein stood alone before walking forwards, taking residence in the spot the man he knew as Madara had been sitting in. His Rinnegan eyes took in his village as his rain began pouring much harsher, taking in all of those within. There was no doubt in Pein's mind what the masked man had been thinking so intently on. Menma. Nagato had attached himself to the boy quickly. He taught him his dream of peace, though Menma had stated that the scum of humanity deserved no such thing. It hadn't stopped the man though as he trained Menma with his paths. The boy was special. There was no doubt about that. He was positive he far exceeded any of his fellow Jinchuriki. He could only hope he didn't become a complete pawn in Madara's plan.

Hidan walked, silently, with his Akatsuki comrades, surrounded by a bunch of annoying, "Snot nosed, ugly, bastardized, Kami Fucking, Punk Ass Brats!" So the man wasn't so silent. The group was used to him voicing his vulgar opinions. To his right, kakuzu glared menacingly at the group of genin they had surrounding him. "Hey, Kakuzu! You remember this shit being in our job description!?" Kakuzu made no verbal reply, but let a natural response of shaking his head slip. On his right, Deidara walked in a rather foul mood. The mouths on his hands chewed angrily on clay, ever so often dropping a piece off which would explode sometime after they had escaped its perimeter. Deidara never once looking innocent about it. Konan stared at the three men, letting them know she had just about had it with their and the kids attitude.

Of course, the teams that Pein, the god of Ame, had chosen to go to Konoha ran around their 'senseis'. They laughed loudly, and boasted how they would rank up. Konan took this time to observe the Akatsuki members. Hidan's hair was slicked back as normal. Instead of wearing a normal shinobi attire, he had simply replaced his Akatsuki cloak with a black, red lined cloak. His Jashin necklace shone brightly in the sun as his Akatsuki ring free fingers played with the handle of his scythe. Kakuzu had simply discarded his Akatsuki robe and ring. Deidara wore a V-neck, sleeveless, midriff shirt with mesh armour underneath it along with pants, stirrups, and sandals. Konan herself kept her eye shadow and labret piercing. Otherwise she wore a revealing navy blue robe, with a large hemline on the front, and exposed her arms, her back, the lateral part of her breast, and her belly, with her navel being surrounded by four more piercings. Instead of the standard sandals and leg-warmers, she wore a pair of blue pants that also functioned as her shoes, with white high heels, inverting Akatsuki's standard colour scheme. Her amber eyes fell on her final Akatsuki comrade. Menma.

The sixteen year old's once blond hair had become black as he became evil, and he wore it in a long and shaggy-looking style, similar to his father's. On his cheeks he held darker and more feral-looking whisker marks than his sister's, and dark circles under his eyes. He also did not have the Eight Trigram Seal on his abdomen, as his sister was reported to have. On his face, he wore a white kitsune mask. The rest of his outfit consisted of a dark blue-grey robe with grey lining and a fur collar, and a tattered grey-blue cape emblazoned with his own personal emblem: a mandala comprised of nine reddish-brown circles of varying sizes atop a larger green-grey circle. Beneath all of this he was known to wear no shirt, fingerless opera-length black gloves wrapped in studded red-brown leather straps, baggy black pants, and red-brown sandals. Attached firmly across his back was a sword. The sword was about 84 cm long, shaped like a calamus, fashioned in a white metallic color, and was very well maintained.

Menma walked at a slower pace than his comrades, normally behind them. His sandals clacked ever so slightly as the eyes behind his mask no doubt searched all of the scenery surrounding them. Konan fell behind her other three Akatsuki comrades, two of which had sparked an argument between themselves. As she fell in step with Menma, she took in Deidara's features as he watched Hidan and Kakuzu shout at each other. The bluenette swore the blond and the two fighting thrived on the chaos of their partner. Glancing away from the three men and the genin surrounding them, her amber eyes once again took in Menma's figure. "You've been trailing behind us this entire time. Why?" Menma continued to walk in silence for a moment before his masked face turned to her.

"Why not?" He questioned in his raspy like voice. The blue haired woman narrowed her eyes at Menma, who turned hos attention back to the road in front of himself. "Because, is I had been traveling with you four, I would have been swarmed by those Genin. I don't like Genin. They're loud, and obnoxious. They get in the way of everything and are hardly ever of any use to us. Besides, if I had been walking up there," At this point, Menma returned his gaze to Konan, "then I wouldn't have enjoyed the view from back here." Konan chuckled at the teen's words. She had become used to his straight forward flirting style. According to 'Pein', the Kuro Kyubi had changed everything about what Menma would have, and ultimately what his sister had, become.

"Really? Perhaps I'll remember that on the way back to Ame." Menma made a noise from behind his mask before the clacking of ninja sandals halted their entire group of Shinobi. Konan's head snapped forwards as she dropped into a Taijutsu stance, whilst Menma slowly turned his head to stare at the two Konoha Ninja that had dropped down in front of them. The two of them grinned in the direction of the large group of Ame, and Akatsuki, shinobi. "Here for the Chunin Exams?" One of the two questioned as Konan dropped her stance, her eyes taking in the large gates of Konoha that they had apparently been nearing. Hidan nodded, his nostril flared from his argument with Kakuzu. "Kinda figured with that amount of Genin. Surprised they haven't drove you crazy, actually. Anyways, you'll need to check in through the Hokage's office. You'll be presented your visitor's passes. Other than that, and the common sense laws, enjoy your stay!" With that, the two began to turn, one pausing to glance at Menma's mask with a strange expression, before they both disappeared in a plume of smoke. Menma said nothing as he moved forwards, pushing past two of the Ame Genin, whom made indignant cries as they were shoved aside. Konan and the other members of Akatsuki followed suit as they left 'their genin teams' behind to run after them.

Minato Namikaze smiled brightly at the amount of Amegakure Ninja in front of him. Ver since Hanzo had mysteriously died, the village had been inactive. It was a sight to see so many of the appear out of no where. "Wow, you may be one of the largest groups to come see me at one time. Tell me, how is things over in Ame?" The five 'senseis' remained quite as Minato chuckled. "No that's okay. I get it! Want to keep things under wraps? Show your power with the genin during the exams?" Hidan made a snorting sound as he turned his back to the Hokage.

"These brats? Their greatest technique is screaming your fucking ears off!" Minato's smile dropped at the man's words. So the people before him weren't the best of teachers.

"Maybe so, but there's potential in everybody! Anyway, I know you're all ready to get out of my office. Here are your passes. Please follow regulation and our laws. Enjoy your stay in Konohagakure No Sato!" Deidara made a muffled noise as he grabbed the passes, shuffling from the room with two of the males and their Genin. Admittedly, Minato had immediately known who he was. A missing shinobi from Iwagakure. But it wasn't unusual for shinobi to take asylum in different villages. Therefore, it was none of Minato's concern. His eyebrow raised in curiosity however as his eyes landed on Menma's figure. "There's something familiar about you... Have we met before?" The black haired teen's eyes narrowed dangerously behind his mask.

"No. I'm afraid _you _haven't met _me_." Minato stared at the person before him before he smiled brightly with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Sorry, I guess you just have a familiar aura to me! Maybe it's your hair? Who knows. You should catch up to your comrades. Enjoy your stays." The black haired sixteen year old and Konan, who had remained unspoken up until this point, nodded in response as they turned to leave the room. Minato called out one final time. "Hey, I never did catch your name?" The Kitsune mask tilted over the boy's shoulder as he glared from its eyeholes.

"Menma. My name is Menma." Minato nodded as the dark haired person left his office, slamming his door in the process. His eyes dropped and his smile dropped as he reached into his desk drawer, producing a picture. It was the family picture he had of his entire family. News of Naruto's disappearance from the Blood Prison had reached him some years ago. He had been so close to getting rid of his verdict. It had broken the Hokage's heart. The child he had neglected, the child he had let slip through his fingers, was gone. He had searched high and low for his carbon copy but he was just gone. Just like Minato's opportunity to make everything up to him. And to hear a name, even similar to Naruto's, was like a knife to the heart for Minato.

Kushina sighed as she scowered the village for her daughter. The red head was always distraught over her daughter during times like this, when there were so many different shinobi within their village. Her eyes glanced to the Hokage Monument where her husband's face sat, impassive. It made her stop and stare at it, wondering if that was what her lost son would have looked like. It took will power for her not to imagine whisker marks on the stone face. Shaking her head wildly, she spun and stalked away muttering angrily to herself.

Menma stopped walking as a multitude of eyes fell upon. He had split away from his comrades and their annoying tag alongs, and had walked head first into a group of Konoha and Suna shinobi. They were, in there minds, in a tense situation as one of the Suna ninja held onto the collar of a small child. A blond girl stood firmly beside him across from the pink haired and blond haired girls that sat in their own group of small children. Menma's fingers twitched as he stared at the blond, dressed in an orange version of Kushina Uzumaki's shinobi gear. He would know that face everywhere. Sitting in a tree off to the side of everyone else was a red haired boy, and a black haired boy. And, unbeknownst to the rest besides Menma, on top of a building overlooking the entire scenario was a group of Kumo shinobi.

The small boy released a wine as he struggled to get himself out of the Suna shinobi's grasp. "Let him go!" the blond cried as their attention who returned to the boy. Prior to this event the black haired boy, Sasuke Uchiha, had appeared in the tree and sent a pebble at the boy's hand. It had freed the small boy, Konohamaru, for a moment. The Suna Ninja, Kankuro, had immediately caught ahold of the boy's collar. "Unless you want to cause an international crisis! How would it look for Suna Shinobi to be attacking the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage?" The purple war painted shinobi released a grunt of surprise. His eyes shot to the red head in the tree before he released the boy. His left hand rose and rubbed his throat tenderly for a moment as the boy hid behind the two Konoha girls. Menma watched this scene indifferently for a moment before he began walking forwards. The sudden clacking of his sandals caused Kankuro to jump in surprise.

"What? You want to cause trouble too!? Come on big shot!" The boy's gloved hand reached over his shoulder to a mummified like object on his back. Menma quit walking for a moment as he thought. The boy was obviously trying to save face for someone. But for who, well that was anyone's guess. And the object on his back was no doubt a puppet. Menma knew plenty of things about puppets through Akasuna No Sasori. The Suna shinobi didn't realize just how much danger he was in.

"If you want to die, be my guest." Kankuro released a grunt of shock as he stepped back. Menma began walking forwards again, his eyes briefly meeting catlike ones on the rooftop overhead. "But your siblings aren't going to be too fond of having to drag your carcass back to Sunagakure No Sato." Kankuro's eyes widened as his head shot to Gaara. How did the man know they were siblings? The red head's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at the passing Shinobi.

'_Who... is he?' _

**'Stay away! Don't encounter him!'**

'_Mother? What's wrong? Why are you afraid of this petty human?'_

**'Do not question me! If you want to live, stay away from the monster! To think, a Yami Biju would actually come into existence...'**

_'Mother?'_

**'Silence! Don't you feel the malovent chakra rolling off of him!? He will murder you! Stay away from him! Get away as soon as you can!'**

_'Yes mother...'_

The blond girl from Konoha broke away from her small group as the Uchiha came to stand beside of her. "Hey, you! How long have you been watching us? You could have helped out you know!?" Menma never stopped his slow pace as he began nearing one of the many fenced corners of Konoha. "Hey! The least you can do is tell me your name! Hey! Are you listening to me!? I'm Natsumi Namikaze, daughter of the Yondaime Hokage! Don't ignore me you asshole!"

"Natsumi!" The familiar voice cause the blond haired girl to jump back in fear as the Suna sibling disappeared upon Gaara's signal. As Menma reached the corner, the red headed form of Kushina ran into him. Her body crashed to the ground as the black haired teenager towered above her. She shivered as she felt the malovent chakra roll off of the boy. _'It's just like the Kyuubi's! But... __**worse**__!' _

"This village continues to taunt and annoy me. Watch where you're going. You never know when you'll run into a shinobi prepared to run you through with his sword." To emphasize his point, he raised his right hand to toy with the hilt for a moment. "And tell your daughter to hold her tongue. Next time I might be tempted to just cut it out." With that Menma rounded the corner, leaving a shocked group of Konoha Shinobi. It was unheard for anyone to talk to the Hokage's wife in such a manner. Kushina's eyes grew angry as he hair began to seemingly levitate around her. Natsumi stumbled backwards in fear.

Anko Mitarashi sat inside of her favorite Dango restaurant, chatting excitedly with her closest friend, Kurenai Yuhi. Many strange shinobi from the four corners of the world surrounded them. So, for the most part, their attention had remained on their food and conversation. That came to an end as the black haired figure wearing the Anbu like Kitsune mask entered the building. He looked around the room staring though the people that had halted to watch him. There was just something about him that seemed to put people off ease. He seemed to find who he was looking for as he found a seat next to a blue haired woman wearing an origami flower and Ame headband. Her amber eyes darted to him as she opened her mouth. Anko couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was obviously in a conversation with the figure. With a sigh Anko returned her attention back to her dango.

"I've run into all of my clansmen in this village. I'm not amused." Konan chuckled at Menma as he motioned as waitress away in a less than polite manner. "Who knows, maybe I'll run into my _godfather_ next? Maybe we can signal Akatsuki and just have a full reunion that ends in everyone's ultimate death?" A smirk remained on the bluenette woman's face as she placed a hand on her irate comrades shoulder.

"I understand how angry you are, to see them, and in this village of all places. But we have our objective. And as much as you may hate it, one of the people you hate? You have to protect them for the plan." Menma released a deep growling nose from behind his mask as he clenched his right fist.

"Hidan can protect that girl. If I can help it, I'll keep my distance until it's time to drag her out of hiding." Konan smiled grimly. It was known that the Kuro Kyubi had some odd effect on Menma in the presence of Jinchuriki. He despised them, more than he did the entire village of Konoha. He said he could feel there Biju, hated knowing that there were others like him. Konan knew he had no reservations about sacrificing them for Madara's plans, or anoyone's plans for that matter. Lowering her hand from his shoulder, Konan placed her right hand over Menma's left.

"Why don't we call this a date? Forget our 'genin', and all of the nuisances you apparently have running around?" Menma remained quite for a moment before he allowed a chuckle to escape through his mask.

"I knew I'd grow on you eventually." Konan released another chuckle. Being as he was, and what he held, one would expect Menma to have no interest in the opposite sex. But he could surprise people with certain emotions. It was just another of the quirks about him.

"Where are those two!?" Hidan snarled, enraged. Kakuzu rolled his eyes in annoyance as the white haired man grabbed one of the kids by their collars, slinging them into the wall. "I swear to Jashin, if they don't get here soon I'll fucking rip these kids' hearts out and laugh as I watch the life fade from their little bastard eyes!" Kakuzu would never admit out loud that he ever agreed with his ignorant partner. But after Konan and Menma had disappeared, the little obnoxious Genin had turned into human demons. They just never shut up. Kakuzu released a sound of annoyance as he sat against one of the room's walls, thinking of Menma. The boy had been about eleven when Kakuzu had first met him. He hadn't been too fond of the black haired boy at first, but he grew on him. Kakuzu had even found himself teaching the boy, though he knew he wasn't the only Akatsuki member to do so. The ancient shinobi's nostrils flared in anger as an Ame headband slammed into the side of his face.

_'It's too bad I have to kill him over these brats...'_

Menma walked alone once again. He had stayed in the Dango building a few minutes after his conversation with Konan, but had decided not to remain. His dark eyes watched every single person that passed him with caution. He knew this village better than anyone. Their ugly skeletons they hid from the rest of the world. It was one of the reasons he had made Madara believe he was fully on board with the Eye of The Moon plan. Or, the man whom had tried to make Menma believe he was Madara. The black haired teen was just too smart to fall for that. And too smart to believe in the ravings of a mad man. A world where everything was perfect for everyone, and the ruler of that world was a single man? It wasn't a world that Menma planned to live in. No, he planned to kill the Jinchuriki, and send their Biju away. He would destroy the mad man's ignorant plan, and if he rebutted against Menma, the man himself. The man hiding behind Madara's name had made a pact with the devil upon taking Menma from the Blood Prison. He had dealt himself a dead man's hand.

Menma quit walking as a white haired man slammed into him. The man dropped an orange book to the ground, sighing in disappointment. "I'm sorry about that. I was just geeting to the best part and wasn't paying attention to where I was going." The man bent down and picked up his book as his only visible eye turned into a u shape. "Kakashi Hatake at your service." Menma's fingers twitched before his right hand clenched into a fist. Kakashi Hatake, The Copy Cat Ninja, also Konoha's former Inu Anbu. Menma's hand unclenched as he waved the man away. Kakashi's eye narrowed as the Kitsune mask wearer began to walk past him. "Now, that's not nice. I was polite enough to apologize, and offer you my name. The least you could do before leaving is tell me your own." Menma stopped and paused for a moment as he looked at Kakashi over his shoulder. Menma remember Kakashi well. It had been he that had told the black haired boy he didn't believe he was cut out to be a shinobi. That had been a couple of weeks before 'Naruto's' incarceration in Blood Prison.

"You bumped into me while reading a book. Therefore there is no reason for me to apologize to you. As for my name, well... I don't think you need to know that right now, Kakashi Hatake. But if you're curious enough... go ask your Hokage. He knows. I'm sure he'd readily give you foreign information. After all, that's how this village operates, right?" Kakashi narrowed his eye at the blatant disrespect of his Kage and former sensei. "And one more thing before I go. I've already told one of your Kunoichi... Watch where you're going. Spread the word to your comrades. Next time... I'm not going to miss." Kakashi's eye widened considerably as Menma walked away. His gloved hand found the Kunai the black haired teen had buried in his flak jacket, inches away from running him through. Glancing at the stranger's back for a moment, Kakashi threw the kunai to the ground as he disappeared in a plume of smoke. It exploded a moment later, unseen by anyone.

"I'm sorry Kakashi, I just can't give that type of information out to just anyone!" Minato sighed tiredly as he placed his elbows on his desk, his head in his hands. Kakashi stood in front of him, his hands placed on the Hokage's wooden desk. Removing his hands, Kakashi ran one through his hair before releasing a sigh.

"He almost ran me through with a Kunai!"

"I understand that Kakashi. But you have to be careful during the Chunin Exams. People have been killed here for less!"

"You don't understand Minato-Sensei! There's something off about that person. I could feel the dark energy rolling off of him! And... I felt like he was familiar... Like I knew him. Like he was someone I should remember, but can't." Minato frowned deeply.

"You too, huh?"

"Excuse me, Minato-Sama?" Kakashi returned, confused.

"His name is Menma, from what he told me. I felt like I should know him too when I met him. So did Kushina, when she ran into him by accident and he basically threatened to run her through with a sword. Natsumi was there. She said she felt something coming off of him. Like it was pure evil." Minato lowered his head for a moment, staring at his wooden desk for a moment before he lifted his head to stare intently into Kakashi's eye. "Find out everything you can about him. Ask Ame ninja, ask any foreign ninja. Covertly follow him if you can. I don't like this Kakashi. Not one bit. Something's going to happen during these exams. I can feel it. Now if he's involved or not, that remains to be seen. But it's better safe than sorry." Kakashi nodded in affirmative as he gave the blond man a brief salute.

"Hai Hokage-Sama!" With that Kakashi disappeared leaving Minato alone. He turned around in his chair, glaring out over his village.

"So... Who are you _really_, Menma?"

A sound genin released a pitiful scream as a chain ripped through him. The area he was in, in Konoha's forest, was littered with the dead bodies of Oto and Suna genin and Jonin. The metalic scent of blood filled the air as their attacker, a man masked in an Anbu like Kitsune mask, flew from the air, a chain connected to a Kunai flying from each of his sleeves, impaling two more victims. He quickly recalled the weapons before swing them in a dangerous arch, removing one unfortunate boy's head from his shoulders. The chains disappeared into his sleeves as another Suna shinobi descended from the tree. "Heavenly Prison Fire Sword!" Flames rippled in the air around the masked figure's hand as flames turned into the visage of a sword. As the Suna Shinobi landed on the ground the flame blade ripped through him, before it was ripped out. Four other shinobi immediately met the same fate as he had before their bodies combusted into flames. Their screams echoed over the forest as the figure's sword vanished from existence.

Turning his head, the figure glared at the single remaining Oto Ninja from behind his Kitsune mask. Reaching over his shoulder the figure, Menma, removed his sword from its resting place. He stalked forwards as he began to remove his white mask. "Now, you're going to tell me everything that I want to know. Or else you will understand true pain." As Menma's mask fell away, he raised his sword in a slashing angle. Then, his eyes bled red.

End Of Chapter

So, for an image of the sword you might can find it on google. But I'm not gonna say the name, because that's giving away a soon to be plot point. Also, tell me if I should insert any personalities from Road to Ninja. I really enjoyed them. Especially Hinata's. Funny to see the quite finger pressing girl threaten to kill Sakura. Also, there are _no_ pairings at the current time.


	2. Chapter 1

So, to clear a few things up here... I don't hate Minato and Kushina! I never have! And for any of you to say otherwise is complete bull! I... don't... hate them! Please quit saying that! I just don't care to have Naruto view them in the same light as he does in the anime/manga, that's not what fanfiction is about! Also, thank you all for the kind reviews! I'm glad that you all like it. Now then, without farther ado...

Hinata Hyuuga walked through the streets of Konoha, glaring at the multitude of civilians that smiled and waved as she passed by. As if they knew her. The Hyuuga heiress hadn't always had the same attitude she did now. No, she'd been shy at one point. A complete nerve wreck. During that time, she had observed one Naruto Namikaze. She was sure now that the feelings she had then would have turned into those of loves. But the object of her would be affection had been taken away from her, and sent to a prison. And then, down the line, her father's other daughter Hanabi had tried to dominate Hinata's life. In response, she had apprenticed to Anko Mitarashi, while being on her best friend's squadron. She had turned a little... rough around the edges, to say the least. She had a straight, hime-style haircut, that went about waist-length. There was only a line of hairs that rested on her forehead. She had shoulder length stands that framed her face. Her lips were normally painted red. She wore a loose fitting, long-sleeved, lavender and cream zip-up jacket with lavender cuffs, with the front unzipped. This exposed her entire torso. The only thing she wore under it being a fishnet like bra. On her legs, all she wore were a pair of short shorts that didn't even come down to mid thigh. Her black ninja sandals came up to about mid thigh. Needless to say, her father still wasn't too fond of her representation of their clan.

She released a startled gasp as she slammed into a rather solid figure, donned in a white ktisune mask. The eyes behind the mask narrowed dangerously as the figure, a man, held a kunai knife inches away from her exposed stomach. _'Those eyes... There's something familiar about those eyes. Do I... know this man?'_

"I don't understand this village's need to constantly throw people at me... Literally." The raspy voice that spoke from beneath the mask almost sent shivers down the Hyuuga girl's spine. The black haired person spun their kunai for a moment before it disappeared into his sleeve. Hinata's eyes widened at this before she returned her gaze to the figure's own intense one. "The Yondaime's wife, The Scarecrow and now you... The Hyuuga heiress. Don't look so surprised. Word gets around in this village of who's who." Hinata's eyes narrowed. There was definately something familar about this guy. But, at the exact same time, completely different.

"Good. Then you should know not to cross me! Now get out of my way..." The Hyuuga trailed off unintentionally. She didn't know the man's name, and he didn't wear any hiatate that signified him as a shinobi of a certain village. The black headed person tilted his head for a moment, taunting her she knew, as he waited for her to continue. Then a dark chuckle escaped from the mask.

"The status of those in this village does not concern me. I don't care if you're the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, or the Uchiha clan. Both bleed blood, and both die. As for my name... normally I'd send you on a goose chase. But for a pretty girl like you... Menma. My name is Menma." The black haired figure moved past Hinata, leaving her alone as she clicked her tongue. Her eyes watched his back as he moved at his own pace down the street in contrast to everyone else.

_'Menma, huh? I know you. I don't know how, but I do. Whoever you really are under that mask, I've met you. That feeling you gave me... I don't feel like that unless I think of N-' _The girl's lavender eyes widened considerably for a moment before a grin overtook her features. _'So, that's it, huh? You've changed... Naruto-Kun._' The girl turned on her heels, walking through the streets with, tuning those around her out as normal. _'And either as Naruto, or Menma... You'll be mine.'_

"Seems like you have competition now, hm?" Konan glared dangerously at Deidara. The blue haired woman had become slight worried over the Kuro Kyubi Jinchuriki, and had trailed him. The blond male next to her had been an unfortunate tag along. The woman's amber eyes narrowed as she watched the girl, the Hyuuga, walk the opposite direction of Menma. She didn't like the way that girl's eyes had started sparkling just then.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Kakuzu ducked lazily underneath a wide arch swing of Hidan's scythe. In retaliation, Kakuzu lurched forwards with a violent kick. A move the the white haired man was easily able to jump over. It probably wasn't the best of ideas to destroy one of Konoha's hotel rooms. But when you paired Hidan with Kakuzu, a bunch of snot nosed, bastard children and a Menma that was never around... Things were bound to get broken. Hidan frowned as the battle between he and his Akatsuki partner slowly died down. Hidan watched with narrowed eyes as the ancient man left the room, slamming the door behind him. '_Fuckin' greedy ass prick!'_ Straightening his posture from his offensive stance, the man let his thoughts slowly wonder. Menma. Hidan had first met Menma on a mission a few years prior. It had ended in a situation similar to the one he and Kakuzu had just been in. Hidan had hated the little punk, wished he could slaughter him and send him to Jashin as a sacrifice. But the boy had been well out of his reach. He was close to people in very high places.

So Hidan had waited, patiently. Well that wasn't technically true as Kakuzu often stated he was frothing at the mouth to kill the boy. A fact that often sparked a multitude of their fudes. And when he was sent on another mission with the boy, he had tried to end him. But the boy had fought back. Matched every single one of Hidan's move, and pushed the immortal man to desperation. The black haired boy had even been able to outsmart his ritual. Hidan had been impressed. As such, he had preached to the boy the word of Jashin. Tried to instill in him that even a heathen such as he could be redeemed with Jashin. Admittedly, the boy had listened and had no qualms watching a slaughter, or causing one himself. But he hadn't given himself to Jashin. He had remained a heathen, something he blamed on that greedy, dumbass, little fucking, "Promiscuous Bastard!" Hidan's voice echoed loudly after Kakuzu as the white haired man crossed his arms angrily. The Jashinite was not one to be outdone by his bastard partner, whom had taken to training the boy. Seeing as Menma hadn't accepted Jashin, there was really nothing he could teach him Ninjutsu wise. But Taijutsu wise? Hidan grinned widly as he thought to himself. He was just one of the many great teachers that could be attributed to Menma's technique.

Menma thought silently to himself as he sat alone. Hanzo The Salamander. The black haired youth wasn't entirely sure why he thought of the man. Most of the time he was just a passing thought. A brief distraction if you will. But Menma knew the man. He knew the man well. He had first met the then leader of Ame in Hozukijo. The prison was well known for holding inmates from every village. It was the reason Hanzo gravitated towards it. The man was always in search of mercenaries for just the right moment. Of course, it was really futile to look for soldiers in the Blood Prison. Once there, it was usually impossible for someone to find their freedom. But it hadn't stopped the salamander summoner from making appearances. He had taken some kind of obssession with Menma. Under Mui's strict supervision, the powerful leader had taught Menma. Perhaps that's why the teen never thought of him. He was just another name, another face, in the long list of those who had taken him under their wing. It was one of the reasons he had been 'So along in training' , as 'Madara' put it. Menma had never ceased training under the man either. In fact, he had trained with him more in secret after he had been relocated to Ame. It had proved a difficult task under the orange mask wearer's strict supervision. The trees surrounding Menma released a subtle sound, forcing his black eyes to narrow. A pair of Kusarigama slid from his sleeves, the chains rattling ever so slightly. Perhaps he was just ready to use a few of the man's methods once again...

Anko Mitarashi grit her teeth angrily as she stalked the dirt streets of Konoha. The loacals of her village, recognizing the mood, quickly found themselves on the opposite side of the road. Basically an entire platoon of Suna and Oto ninja had been found murdered. Many of them had been burned to a crisp. Unrecognizable. The two villages had been irate, and had immediately pointed fingers at Konoha. The backlash? Anko had been placed on night patrol. She didn't appreciate night control. And now, she found herself stomping towards Ibiki's examination room to introduce herself as the second examiner. Another thing she didn't appreciate. It was the Yondaime's idea to make her one, after all. The woman released a loud snarl as she turned a sharp corner, forcing herself to stop as she almost plowed headfirst into a Kitsune mask wearer. The woman recognized him immediately. It was the same black haired man as the door before. The trench coat wearing woman took a deep breath. Her eyes widened as she smelled the scent coming from the man. Blood. There was no doubt about it. Anko Mitarashi knew the smell of blood and death anywhere. As she opened her mouth to speak, the black haired person beat her to the punch. "I appreciate you not running into me. You're the first of four not to do so." The eyes behind the mask stared at her a moment longer before he began to walk away from her.

"Hang on there, punk!" The woman lurched out with her right arm, grabbing ahold of the black haired man's sleeve. "I don't know where you're going, but there are two things for us to talk about. First off, you didn't apologize for almost crashing into me! Second, where were you last night?" The man stared at he for a moment before he yanked his sleeve out of her grip.

"I didn't run into you. You didn't run into me. There is no reason for either of us to apologize. As for my whereabout of last night, it's of no importance to you. My dealings are mine and mine alone. You Konoha ninja dig too deep into foreign affairs." Anko's nostrils flared as she released a growling sound. Grabbing the front of the mask wearer's clothes, she pulled trying to bring him to eye level with her. He didn't budge.

"Listen, you asshole. I'm not in a good mood. As a matter of fact, I'm two incidents away from slicing someone like you up. So it may be in your best interests to go ahead and apologize now, so I don't come for you _later_. And there was a murder last night. I smell blood coming off of you. Clear as day. Pretty fresh too. As a matter of fact, I'd put it at about twelve minutes ago. So I have every reason to suspect you as the culprit. And if you refuse to give me an alibi, I have the authority to arrest you right here and now." The eyes behind the mask glared at her dangerously. Then a chuckle broke through the masked features.

"I'm not going to apologize. I don't care how bad your little mood is. I didn't run into you, and if I had, I probably would have ran you through with a weapon. And yes, you do smell blood. It's animal blood. I got attacked by a wild boar. You can find it in the woods about fourteen miles out from the gate. As for my alibi, well, I was with my Amegakure comrades and Genin. If you don't believe that, ask your Copy Cat Shinobi. Kakashi. I felt him following me around the entire time. Now, if that's all, I'll be on my way." With those words, Menma grabbed the woman's wrist. Removing her hand he brushed pass her, her nostrils flaring in anger.

Kakashi's single eye lazed tiredly as he watched the sixteen year old Menma. After being assigned to watch the boy, he had immediately taken to following him around. And it was safe to assume, there was really nothing to worry about from him! '_Just a shinobi with a bad temper it seems...'_ He had followed the boy for twelve hours straight. Said black haired teen had walked around the village, sat in a hotel room with a whole lot of Genin, and now sat meditating in the woods. He had never left the village, conversed with foreign shinobi outside of his village or attacked anyone. There was definately something off about him no doubt. Maybe his hair or the way he carried himself. Kakashi knew that he would know the face underneath the mask when he saw it. If only he could get that opportunity. Shrugging, he brought his hands up in a seal and disappeared in a plume of smoke to report to his Hokage. The Menma that he had been watching remained silent for a moment before he raised his head. "He's gone." Silence rained throughout the forest inside of Konoha before he nodded dutifully. "Understood." Raising his right hand into a seal, his body burst into flames, quickly burning himself out of exsitence. He had been nothing but a clone.

Minato narrowed his eyes dangerously as Kakashi chuckled. The lower ranking man rubbed the back of his head. The blond haired Hokage had been spying on the same Menma as Kakashi had with the Hokage's all seeing crystal ball. And as Kakashi had arrived in his sunshin, the mask wearer had disappeared. Some kind of fire clone, as it seemed. Minato's steel blue eyes glared angrily at his former student. "Nothing really suspicious about him, you say?" Kakashi cuckled once again as he lowered his gaze to the ground.

"Maybe just a little..."

Natsumi sighed as she sat around the fence of Training Ground Forty Four. The Forest Of Death. The Seventy Two genin that had passed surrounded the immediate area as the waited for the rules and regulations to be announced by Anko Mitarashi. The, surely, insane woman was currently talking with one Hinata Hyuuga however as Natsumi shifted back and forth on her feet. She was a very impatient girl. The two fishnet wearing Konoha kunoichi talked excitedly back and forth as they gestured to the forest wildly. With another sigh, the blonde's eyes rose to stare at said enviornment. Her eyes widened as they landed on the mysterious form of the same mask wearer that had threatened her mom. Menma's eyes glared at her from behind his mask as he stood on one of the many ancient tree branches of the forest. The girl drew a breath in and turned as she prepared to alert those around her to his presence. Then pain shot through her abdomen. It multipled for the longest moment as she slid to her knees, grasping at herself through the pain. Her teammates quickly rushed to her as Sakura questioned her about her health. The yondaime's daughter simply nodded at the questions asked as her eyes returned to the branch Menma had stood upon. He was gone.

Mui glared dangerously at the newest of inmates of Hozukijo. The men before him shivered in fear as his voice declared how they were the lost hopes of their villages. How their escape was futile. As he did so, he thought of the boy he had adopted as his own son. Menma... He had shown up just a few weeks after he had sealed his son into that damnable box. At first, the boy had just been another prisoner. But then he had a second thought. Maybe it had been the box's way of giving his lost son back to him. He had saved the boy from certain death in his prison. He was truly a dark soul. The amount of prisoners in his prison that had been killed by the dark boy was well up there. He had trained him in both Taijutsu and his own Clan's personal Jutsu. He had raised him. Had allowed a man name Hanzo to help train him. And then, that man in the orange mask had come along and taken him. Mui had fought for the child, but his attempts had been futile. Especially against that red eye of his. Mui had been in depression at the loss of the boy. But then he made the realization that his son was still in the box. Realized the boy had only been a temporary replacement for his own flesh and blood. Mui would have his real son back. He only hoped that the boy that had saved him didn't perish under the orange masked man's rule. His thoughts broke and his eyes narrowed as one of the new inmates questioned Mui. A smirk crossed his features as he lurched forwards. "Fire Release: Heavenly Prison!"

The seal used by the jutsu spread across Menma's target, whom set shackled to a tree by the chains of the black haired boy's weapons. "Do you know this jutsu?" The mask wearer questioned as he grabbed hold of an Oto Ninja's face. His black eyes widened in fear as he stared at Menma's intimidating figure. As he slowly shook his head, Menma chuckled darkly. "No, I don't suppose you do. It's a technique taught to me by the Warden of Hozukijo. If you get too far away from me, you'll burst into flames." Menma paused for a moment. "Heavenly Prison Fire Sword." Familiar flames danced around the Kuro Kyubi Jinchuriki's arm as it warped itself into a sword. Menma spun on his hills, slicing through one of the boy's comrades. This action was quickly followed by the flame sword piercing through the single female of the squadron. Menma looked around for a moment as his technique extinguished, just as the two conbusted into flames. "Just like that." The mask wearer finished as the remaining Oto ninja released a shriek of fear. "Don't like flames? Then cooperate with me. Tell me what I want to know, and I'll let you live." The boy looked at his comrades burning bodies. Then forced his eyes shut.

"I'll never betray Orochimari-Sama!" Menma glared at him for the longest moment before he nodded.

"So be it. I hope you're more fire proof than your friends. Especially chained to a tree." Menma turned away and walked at the same slow deliberate pace he always did. The boy immediately began releasing an assortment of noises. From a startled grunt to a shout of desperation.

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you! The finals, Kabuto is going to put an illusion over everyone at a specific signal. I don't know what signal I swear! Orochimaru's going to attack the Yondaime Hokage and Oto and Suna are going to try to obliterate Konoha!" Menma remained with his back to the chained man before his weapons retracted back into his sleeves. The young boy released his gratitude as he fell to the ground. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Don't thank me. You didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Your life is forfeit." With that, Menma launched himself into a tree, quite a ways away from the boy, whom released a shriek of pain as his body ignited into flames. "I guess it's time to find the next group of Genin."

Orochimaru chuckled as he arose from the Earth. The Forest of Death surrounded him as he checked around himself for any hostile Shinobi. The Snake Sanin had succeeded in placing his Curse Mark on Sasuke Uchiha, marking him as his next vessel. His brother, Itachi, would have been the ideal vessel. But he was too strong for Orochimaru to take. Sasuke had potential, but he wasn't his brother. After his clan's massacre, he had becom a playboy of sorts. Flirting with girls one day, and then the next acting as if they didn't exist. Almost like a split personality really. And his jutsu left something to be desired. But still, with the Sharingan in his possession, Orochimaru could easily remedy that. The Snake Sanin had even had the pleasure of proving just how far out of Anko's league he was when she tried to kill him with a suicide ninjutsu. One of Orochimaru's own at that. His features lost his sinister grin as he though about apprentices. He accounted for many things while he planned for Konoha's downfall. He had even planned for Madara to send Akatsuki members as he had been reported to do. But he hadn't been prepared for the ancient man to send his former Akatsuki Apprentice-

Ninja sandals clacked hard against the ground as one of Orochimaru's devious smirks came over his features. "Menma." The black haired boy said nothing as he sat back to back with the Snake Sanin. It had been before Itachi's arrival that the boy had been brought into the folds of Akatsuki. The malovent chakra rolled off of him in waves, even back then. The Kuro Kyubi Jinchuriki. The boy had interested Orochimaru from day one. He had even toyed with the idea of taking Menma's body for his own. But his research showed that the Biju in his stomach prohibited that. So he did the next best thing. He apprenticed Menma. Taught him, and gained his trust. Not enough that he would leave with Orochimimaru after his defection from the organization some years later. But he had trained the boy long enough to know him. He was more dangerous than a cornered snake coiled in the grass. He could strike at any time from any side. One moment he could be following Madara's order, and the next he could be under Orochimaru's village as a shinobi. He chose who he wanted to side with carefully. The Snake Sanin knew Madara wanted the boy to kill him. But if he didn't find it to his wants, he wouldn't.

"It's been a while, Orochimaru." The Snake Sanin chuckled at the boy's rather raspy voice. "I'm sure you're aware of your Shinobi that I've annihalated."

"Oh yes, I'm _very_ aware, Menma. You've cost me quite a few soldiers. None that aren't easily replaced, but you still cost me them. Tell me, what information were you trying to get out of them?"

"If I told you that, you would know my plans. It doesn't matter what I was looking for, just know that I got it. Those Genin you saw burned back there, they sang like birds. Fitting that they were from the Sound Village." That was a lie. Menma had yet to uncover what he really wanted to know. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. Menma had always had a big mouth on him, so to speak. He spoke his mind when he wanted to and how he wanted to. And there was no use trying to get under his skin. He had been taught by the best of the best to keep a level head. Orochimaru included. Yes, it seemed that the boy was always in control of every situation that he got himself involved in. "Be warned, Orochimaru, the Hokage won't be the only Kage in this village. The Raikage will be here. The Tsuchikage. The Mizukage. Do you understand? They don't like you, Orochimaru. They want your head on a spike. And when you follow through with your plans, they will stop at nothing to make that fantasy a reality." Menma sandals clacked softly as he began to walk away from one of his former senseis.

"You have so little faith in me."

"No, you'll escape. For now. You're the Snake Sanin after all. It's what you're revered for." Orchimaru's face sat into a scowl at the blatant insult. "I won't stop you if you kill one of the Jinchuriki. Madara's plan is not my plan. He wants a world of peace created by a Biju and ruled by him. I want peace too. But I'll go about that my own way. By cutting everyone in my way down." The black haired boy stopped as he removed his mask, staring over his shoulder. "That includes you, Orochimaru. There will come a day when I will end your miserable existence. The Hebi will finally have his head chopped off." Orochimaru laughed at the thought.

"Many have tried, and all have failed. You'll be no different."

"We'll see." The two shinobi disappeared, leaving behind two snakes. One a Viper, the other a Rattlesnake. The creatures glared dangerously as they circled around each other. Then, they struck out.

Sakura cried as she sat on the ground in pain. The three Oto ninja had beaten her as she fought against them to protect her two teammates, Sasuke and Natsumi. One of the males, Zaku, chuckled darkly as he brandished a Kunai Knife. "Let's just finish this bitch and kill Sasuke. Then we can get their scroll and be done with this whole dame thing." His teammates said nothing as he pulled his arm back, releasing the weapon. It sailed through the air towards Sakura's forehead as she allowed more tears to flow. Before the weapon ever connected, a shuriken sailed through the air. The kunai went through the middle, where it was caught and knocked off course. The girl of Oto, Kin, gasped in shock as Menma appeared just feet apart from her and her teammates. "Oh great, another guy we gotta kill! I told you we should have just killed the girl!" The spiky haired boy complained loudly.

"You're the one who wanted to drag her death out!" Zaku rolled his eyes childishly before he quickly raised hi arms into the air.

"Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!" The blast of the technique sailed straight into Menma. Said black haired boy raised his left hand. The jutsu seemed to go around him in a cricle until the blast finally wore itself out. Zaku's eyes widened in shock as he opened his mouth to protest against Menma's power. Before he could, the mask wearer was right next to him, his right hand at point blank range.

"My turn." With those two words, Menma released a good amount of chakra from his palm, sending his attacker spiraling away with his Repulsion Technique. His male partner, Dosu's, visible eye widened as Menma chuckled from behind his mask. The black haired boy lurched forwards at Dosu, entering a barrage of open handed, close handed, and kick barrage attack. Dosu stumbled backwards as he tried to dodge the man's attack. As Menma kicked him directly in the gut, it sent him flying backwards. Zaku fresh from shocking the cob webs out of his head lurched forwards to attack his new opponent. menma dodged backwards, his head moving from side to side. Striking out with his own kick, Zaku brought his right arm up to block. Using his oppponent's momentum, a second kick struck out, knocking the boy across his face. He stumbled as Menma sent a closed fist towards his face. At the last possible second, he pulled his head back, avoiding the blow. Menma smirked behind his mask. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Kin and Dosu watched in shock as two snakes extended from their attacker's sleeve, wrapping themselves around their comrades throat. With a violent tug from Menma, a sickening snap resounded throughout the area as the Oto boy released a string of gurggling noises.

As Menma turned his attention to the remaining two, Kin released a fearful grunt, sending a senbon needle towards her comrades murderer. As the two snakes recoiled back into the boy's sleeves, Menma spun quickly. With a simple flick the weapon was sent off path. Menma chuckled as the girl stumbled backwards. Dosu's emerged to his left, his technique ready to effect his opponent's hearing. But gravity seemed to change, Dosu simply floating in the air as Menma actually laughed at their attempts. "Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes." Dosu's watched in shock and horrid fascination as the black haired boy dropped to the ground. His mask became escewed as a multitude of snake rushed from his mouth. Kin screamed in fear as she dashed into the forest. Dosu could only remain helpless as the snakes eventually caught up to her. A murder of crows ascended into the skies, signaling her death. The mummified looking boy released a pitiful sound as Menma tauntingly walked towards him with his normal gait.

"Are you... Orochimaru-Sama...?" The black haired youth chuckled dangerously as he came to a stop before the still floating Otogakure genin.

"No, I'm not the Snake Sanin. But I am every bit his equal. Your team and comrades are dead. And unless you want to end up just like them, you'll tell me exactly what I want to know." Dosu resisted the urge to cry out for help. If this wasn't Orochimaru, he was definately attached to the Snake Sanin in some way shape or form. It wouldn't be wise to tell him no. But it also wouldn't be wise to disobey Orochimaru.

"I'll tell you nothing." Menma frowned from behind his Kitsune mask as his eyes bled red. Dosu became shock still as he released a sound of utter disbelief. Sakura watched from the sidelines as two more teams of Konoha Genin appeared. Menma's frown deepened. The Yondaime would hunt him down if he killed them all. Especially his daughter.

"So be it then." And then, the two male figures were gone in a swirl of flames, Sakura crying out from the heat it radiated. Standing on one of the overhead branches one Neji Hyuuga narrowed his eyes as veins disappeared from his temples.

"What is he...?"

"Orochimaru, huh?" Minato released a sigh as his head fell into his hands. His wife rubbed his back tenderly as Anko nodded. "I was certain it was that menma going around killing the genin. But I guess it makes more sense. Did he tell you what he was here for exactly?" Anko shook her head, a look of rage on her features.

"No. He only said that if Sasuke was taken out of the exams, or the exams were halted that he would destroy the village." Minato nodded solemnly. He still didn't believe it entirely. Orochimaru slaughtered Genin for no specific reason? He had done it before, but he had had a goal in mind. The attacks around the village just seemed random at best. That Menma, Minato was sure there was something not right going on with his affairs. Minato knew. Just as he knew that whoever was behind that mask, had been face to face with Minato before.

"That's all I need to know. Alert Kakashi about the attack on his team. Have him prepared to seal the Mark until Jiraiya-Sensei or I have the opportunity to do so. Don't stop the exams. We'll let Orochimaru think he's the one pulling the strings here. One more thing before you go... You said you felt a second Chakra signature with Orochimaru after he had left you?"

Dosu released a scream of pain as the masked figure broke the last of his fingers. Nine ghastly looking figures floated behind him in the forms of: A Sea Horse like Dragon, A lean and slender Tiger, a bird with elegant and dramatic plumage, a tortoise with a shell made of overlapping plates, a massive serpent with golden scales, an angelic priestess with flowing robes, a priest that resembles a skeleton and carries a scythe and two priests with fox staffs. They were Menma's nine masked beast. For the past twenty four minutes, they had slaughtered everyone that crossed Menma's path while he interrogated Dosu. "Are you going to tell me what I want to know now?"

"Go to hell!" Menma straightened with a frown underneath his mask.

"I'm tired of all of you Oto ninja being heroes." The black haired boy held out his right hand where a ball of dark purple chakra gathered, surrounded by a series of white rings of chakra. "You've heard the stories of the Yondaime's Rasengan from Orochimaru, haven't you? Of course you have. It's one of the techniques he craves so much. The thing about it is that it's the manifestation of your chakra. It has Yin and Yang. It is imperfect. To date, neither Student nor teacher have completed it. But look at the devestation that it causes. This is my own personal version. My Spiralling Ring. It is made of pure malovent chakra. Imperfect in the ways of purity. But it's much more devastating than the Rasengan. I'd estimate that one of this size would level half of Konoha if I dropped it on the village. Think about what that's going to do to your head. No heroism. No rewards. You'll be just aother stain left behind by war. Just like your comrades." Dosu's eye widened as the ball inched closer and closer to his face. He could feel the evil chakra whipping off of it.

"Okay, yes, I'll tell you!" Menma paused a moment before he retreated his hand. The spiralling ring stayed forever active.

"Then talk. I know Orochimaru knows where the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple is. I want to know too. Kushina Uzumaki wasn't very bright to leave its treasures there. And Orochimaru isn't either if he thinks he's getting ahold of those masks. Now, speak." Dosu nodded furiously as Menma's spiralling spear came dangerously close to his face one again.

"I don't know the specifics per se. I'm not that far up the ladder, you see? But Kabuto Yakushi is. As a matter of fact, he's Orochimaru's right hadn servant! If there's anyone who can give you that information it's him!" Menma stood still for a moment before releasing his jutsu with a nod. Dosu released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in. Without another word to the Oto shinobi, Menma began walking away. As he passed his Nine Masked Beasts, his eyes shot to the corners of his mask.

"Kill him."

Gaara stiffened as his 'mother' screamed loudly at him. His sand swarmed around him, protecting him for no specific reason. That black haired boy, he was in the forest. There was no doubt about it. His mother had never reacted to anyone else in any way similar. Those in the forest that had been the predators, were now the prey. A sharp pain flew through Gaara's abdomen, though he never even showed any emotion on his face. With a sharp twist of his right hand, blood splatter the entire area around him.

Menma glared at his surroundings. Mutated wild life lay mutilated at his feet. It seemed that the entire village of Konoha was out to kill him. It was infuriating. A dark grin spread over the black haired youth's features as he removed his mask. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihalation!"

Anko's eyes narrowed angrily as she stared at the flames that licked the skies from the Forest of Death. The bodies in front of her killed by Orochimaru lay forgotten for the time being. "So the first day finally comes to an end..."

Hidan's eyes widened as he saw the flames lighting the now night's sky from where he was certain all of the genin were taking their second examination. "Atta boy Mena! Make sure to take a few of our genin out too! Hell, take all of those little fucking bastards out!"

"Shut the hell up Hidan!"

Karin screamed hoarsly as the black haired figure before her squeezed her throat violently. The man, wearing the Kitsune mask, had appeared moments earlier. Her team had been attacked by a bear enraged by a seal across its chest that threatened to burn it to a crisp. Her comrades had easily been slaughtered and she had been close to such as well. Until the figure holding her by her throat appeared and sliced the bear clean in half. As Karin had moved forwards to thank him, he had whirled and grabbed a hold of her throat. Lifting her off of the ground, she found herself staring into a pair of red eyes. Snakes slithered from his right sleeve as they too wrapped themselves around her throat. "You're going to deliver a message to Kabuto, from Orochimaru... Understand?" The girl nodded quickly as black blotches began to fill her vision and she threatened to pass out. "Good. You tell him that Orochimaru wants to meet im ASAP..."


	3. Chapter 2

Hinata Hyuuga's eyes narrowed as she stomped through the Forest Of Death. her two male comrades gave her a wide birth as she unconsciously activated and deactivated her Byakugan. It was the Third day of the Fifth Exams. Two were left. For the first two day, Hinata had caught glimpses of Menma with her kekkei Genkai. But she had never been able to catch up with him as he moved to and fro. She blamed her slow teammates for that. And then, just a few hours prior, Menma had disappeared from training Ground Forty Four. Shino and Kiba had both felt Menma's presence alongside their teammate. The malovent energy he gave off had turned a few of Shino's bugs against him, forcing him to say "I hate these bugs" and making Akamaru bite Kiba on his rear end. As the team of three entered the building in the center of the forest, Hinata slammed her fist into one of the cement walls.

Menma sat alone levitating under a waterfall. The majority of his clothes had been discarded and only his head allowed the fresh water to run over the whisker marked boy. His eyes seemed far away as he thought about the Uzumaki Temple. Menma had a reason for everything he did. And the reason for his need of the temple was simple really. It was true that one of his Nine Masked Beasts was a Shinigami. But it was only a Shinigami made from the Kuro Kyuubi. The masks at the Temple allowed one to control the actual Shinigami while they allowed the entity into their body. It was an incredible tool created by the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts. But it was also something Menma wouldn't let fall into others hands. Especially someone like Orochimaru. The mask had been highly looked for, but none could obtain it. Not unless they had an Uzumaki present. It may have been why Kushina had left it. She believed no one could reach its power inside the Uzumaki Temple. She was utterly wrong of course. She had just left aother tool for Menma behind...

Kushina sat in a chair with a stern face as her eyes scanned over sealing scroll after sealing scroll. Drawings, labels and scribbling marked the pages. _'I was hoping I was wrong about it. That energy I felt from the boy... That was the Kyuubi's power. I would know it anywhere! But there are only so many people in the world that has been exposed to the Kyuubi's chakra. And none of them feel exactly like that. It was too evil. But it was definately...' _She paused for a moment, straightening her back with her eyes widening. _'Could it be Naruto? No, that's impossible. He disappeared from the Blood Prison. Probably trying to escape. He probably drowned. But... The posibility is there...'_

Minato stood with his eyes ablaze with rage. He couldn't quite comprehend what was going on, but he had lost all control of his Chunin Exams. First, four of his shinobi had almost been run through with a blade by the same man. Then Otogakure Shinobi and Sunagakure shinobi turn up dead. Together. Of course, it was after this that the current main suspect of everything had shown up. Orochimaru. And to top all of that off? Someone had set the Forest of Death ablaze! It had taken hours for Suiton users to put the flames to rest. Twirling around, the blond slammed his fist angrily on his wooden desk, splintering it. "Having problems there, Gaki?" A familiar voice questioned from his office window.

Kakashi watched Menma intently from atop one of Konoha's many roofs. The black haired teen sat in a Ramen stand with the same blue haired woman that he had arrived in the village with. The copy cat ninja wished he could hear them, or at least for them to turn around so he could read their lips. Because Kakashi was sure that the mask wearer had held some part with setting training ground forty four on fire.

"During the break between Exam Two and Exam three, I have my own agenda to accomplish." Konan nodded at Menma's words. While the boy didn't believe in Nagato's plan for piece, he wasn't completely on board with Madara's plan. He simply just had his own. It was actually something Konan liked to see.

"I'll be staying in the village. Pein hasn't resummoned us, and I see no point in returning to Ame." Menma returned Konan's nod as he glared at the ramen that had been placed before him. An overdose of naruto had been placed on the food, drawing a snarl from the teen. Standing to his feet quickly, Menma slammed a handful of money down on the counter before he spun on his heels and began to leave. "I'll see you later."

Hiruko was a dangerous human being. He had created the ultimate Fuinjutsu. The ability to absorb someone's Kekkei Genkai. Albeit there were many complications to the technique and many limits. But it was dangerous non the less. A few people now knew how to use this, the Chimera Techninque. They fought along side Hiruko. Except one. A small boy, now a teenager if he was still alive, Menma. Hiruko had been caught attacking a particular shinobi and sent to Hozukijo. It had infuriated him to be placed under the lock of the warden, Mui's seal. But the small boy that always followed the man around had taken an interest in Hiruko. Stated that there was something off about him. Something special. Of course, that had been all that was needed for Hiruko to begin taking a shine to him. Eventually, after Hiruko learned of Menma's life, the black haired boy had been taught the Chimera Technique. In return, the younger had, somehow, convinced the warden to free Hiruko. Said man had never returned. But he did think of the boy a lot. Wondered if he had ever even used the Chimera Technique. In the end, Hiruko knew it didn't really matter. That was long ago now.

Kurenai Yuhi held Hinata Hyuuga's face in her right hand, moving it side to side as she inspect the younger girl for wounds. Said girl released her less than polite disapproval. Not the Kurenai minded. Hinata was like a daughter to her. It was why she had insisted upon Anko taking her as an apprentice years ago. It had held some rather interesting results, but nothing that had been too bad. Just a rough around the edges attitude. Her red eyes shifted as three men, three of the ones from Ame that didn't wear their hiatates, stormed into the room. The long haired blond seemed to be in the lead as he stomped over to the only team of Ame genin to make it this far. Curses slipped from the white haired man's mouth as he toyed with his scythe. Kurenai shuddered. Especially considering other Shinobi's quirks. Yes, Kurenai could deal with an Anko like attitude just fine.

"Couldn't you just die, hm?" The leader of the injured squadron glared menacingly at Deidara who chuckled in response. "It's a simple question."

"Fuck you. We lost two of our teams in that forest! Who knows if the other two are going to be coming back!" Deidara chuckled again, his right eyebrow going at a different angle than his left, his head lowering. A dark smile spread across his features as the hands on his mouth began to chew nothing on instinct.

"Good. Less of you to annoy the shit out of me you little heathen!" Hidan exclaimed as his eyes widened. If one looked close enough, they would almost be sure to swear the man insane.

"This is the Shinobi world. It's kill or be killed. Get over it, yeah. Besides, you were the ones excited to recieve a mission from the God of Ame." The boy released a snarl as the three men to their backs to the squadron. Glancing over his shoulder Kakuzu sent a burst of Killing Intent the boy's way. Said boy immediately slid to the ground with his teammates surrounding him. Deidara risked one more glance, and then he was leading the way from the small group. This was why Deidara had liked Menma as a kid. Having been the youngest of Akatsuki member at the time, the blond had expected the boy to be just as obnoxious as those that had been sent on their mission. But he hadn't been. He had been calm and collected and always had control of any situation. Just like Deidara had believed an Akatsuki member should be. Unlike other Akatsuki members, Deidara hadn't trained Menma however. Had had nothing to teach him as his entire style revolved around his Kekkei Genkai after all. But that didn't change the sense of comraderie felt between the two at any given moment.

Menma glanced to the burnt forest of death before raising his vision to the sky. The fourth daay of the Second Exam had come and gone. He didn't have long until the entire Seconday was over. Black eyes narrowed as Menma felt a familiar presence near him. He wasn't sure if it was the extra genin that turned up dead or the forest being lit on fire. Or maybe some other reason. But whatever it was, it had placed Kakashi Hatake back on his trail. It was annoying. "You can come out now. I'm not stupid to not know you're there. Are you listening to me Hatake? Get out here before I lose my temper!" A plume of smoke appeared before Menma as Kakashi glared at him.

"Nice to meet you again, Menma."

"Skip your pleasantries. What do you want. Speak quickly because I'm tired of having you constantly following me around this village. Who's idea was that anyways? Are you acting on your own? Or did your all knowing Hokage put you up to it?" Kakashi stared at the teen before him. He had to be cautious around him. Minato hadn't reassigned Kakashi to trailing him, so if he was injured there wasn't much of a chance of anyone knowing about it.

"A little bit of both actually. The Genin dying and the forest being set on fire... Did you do it? And if you didn't, what exactly do you know about it." Kakashi stared at Menma's mask before the black haired boy chuckled.

"Let's be honest, Kakashi. Even if I did do it, I wouldn't admit to it. I'm a shinobi. Deceit is mmy best friend. Like wise with if I knew anything about it. I'm not saying anything that will incriminate myself. You realize that you're the second person to approach me, accusing me of being the murderer? You know that it is illegal to question a foreign shinobi during the Chunin Exams without indefinate evidence of their involvment in any crime. It is also a crime to trail a Shinobi from a foreign village, especially if you're the Kage or a Jonin. If your village continues to press me, I will immmediately report you to your precious Fire Daimyo. I don't think your Hokage would enjoy the military fund cuts from the money that would pay for the fines." Kakashi stared at Menma a while longer, neither breaking eye contact before he finally allowed his eye to shape into a familiar u shape.

"Right sorry to have bothered you. Stay out of trouble." With that, Kakashi was gone just as quickly as he had appeared before the Akatsuki member. Said teen remained in place, searching before he was finally sure that the white haired man had let him be. Then he began to walk forwards again with his eyes roaming from side to side behind his mask.

Kabuto frowned deeply as he sat on a stone inside of the Forest of Death. His disguised teammates had left him to go fetch their missing scroll. During that time, Karin had appeared and delivered Orochimaru's request for Kabuto. After the red head had departed to the building in the forest to recieve medical treatment, Kabut had immediately began wondering what his master could have wanted. It was possible that something had went wrong when he placed the Curse Mark on Sasuke. It seemed unlikely but the possibility was still there. Perhaps he had run into Anko, or the Hokage. Or worse off maybe the Akatsuki members he said had attended the Exams. It was no secret that the organization was after Orochimaru life, and the ring he stole from them upon his departure. Standing to his feet Kabuto began looking around himself. "I don't have time to wait on those morons. If Orochimaru summoned me, I need to meet with him as soon as possible. I need both of those scrolls. Now."

Jiraiya of the Sanin giggled to himself as he sat in a tree, overlooking the women's Hot Springs. He scribbled quickly on his notepad as his head snapped back and fourth between the paper and the women. But his writing became slower and slower as his features began to take on a more serious note. After Jiraiya had entered Minato's office through his window, the blond had quickly explained the events that had taken place since the beginning of the exams. It was enough to put the Sanin's perverted thoughts on hold. Orochimaru had somehow invaded Konoha, and has made his presence felt quickly. And along with him came a boy named Menma. Who, according to Kushina, definately held power similar to the Kyubi. Except eviler. He wasn't quite sure how that was possible but he had a hypothesis. A strong one at that. He had come to Konoha to train Natsumi for the final exams. BUt before that... "I think I should meet this Menma gaki, face to face."

"Who was that!?" Jiraiya cursed his damnable luck.

Konoha's graveyard was silent and damp in the night. Shadows spread across the ground as they came into the form of one Menma. He formed on top of an old, yet well maintained, tomb. His mask was gone but you would have to look very closely in the dark of the night mixed with the shade of the trees surrounding him. Lowering his head, Menma stared at the tomb that he sat upon. "The Hokage tomb. You'd think that this would be more heavily guarded." With a surge of energy, Menma levitated off of the large tom before finding his footing on the ground. Looking closely, he examined the multitude of seals that surrounded the door. "Then again, these are ancient Uzumaki seals. I don't have enough time to disable them all. There are only twelve hours left in the second exam and I'm expected to be present." With a quick hand seal, Menma disentegrated into shadows once more. Then, just as guards came to observe the immediate area, the shadows slowly slipped through a crack into the tomb.

Tsunade sat and watched as her apprentice, Shizune, counted her many winnings with narrowed eyes. The blond haired woman never had luck with gambling. as a matter of fact, she was normally on the losing end. So when she actually started winning, especially at any game she played, it only meant one of two things. One was for something incredibly bad to be about to happen to her. The other was for... Her thoughts were cut short as shadows shot from the walls of her booth, forming a true shadow clone. Tsunade smirked slightly relieve. The other was for Menma to show up. Menma was her godson, formerly known as Naruto. Tsunade had truly been the only one to pay more attention to him than his sister when he was a child. But with the disdain she had for Konoha she was almost never around when he truly needed her. It was one of the many things she regreted in her life. But they had communicated through letter after his incarceration in the Blood Prison, and later in person after he had left. Though he had never explained the details of who he was with or what he was doing after his release. Not that she really cared though.

Her eyes roamed over Menma's 'Kuro Shadow Clone', taking in what her godson looked like in the present. His outfit consisted mostly of what it had during their last encounter together. The only differences being that his mask had been discarded, and a new sword had been strapped around his waist. Tsunade's smirk turned into a full smile as she chuckled. It was a short sword with a golden hilt. The hilt featured two serpents interwtwining up it. It was sheathed in a black scabbard with celtic design exactly the same from on the shining metallic blade inside. She would know that sword anywhere. It had been property of her Grandfather and his brother after all. Menma's clone stared at her in the silence for a while as Shizune released a gasp of surprise upon seeing him. Then he reached around his neck and produced a necklace. The necklace of the Shodaime Hokage. "Thank you for letting me use it. I wouldn't have been eligble to recieve the Shodaime's sword without it. He was a tricky man to have sealed it away the way he did." Tsunade chuckled as she took in the features of the necklace. Menma had won it in a bet years ago. Tsunade, drunken as she was. had stated she could beat the boy with her pinky finger alone. She had been wrong.

"Keep it. I don't want that thing anymore." The clone sat with his hand open for the longest time before it clenched shut. A dark energy ran down the length of the fake Menma's arm before he unclenched his right fist. The gem of the Shodaime that had been green, had turned black. His hand retreated before the clone retied the now black gem back around his throat.

"I'll give it to the real Menma upon my return." Tsunade nodded slowly as she watched the shadows that had formed the boy sink back to their resting place, leaving Tsunade and Shizune alone with her winnings. A smile spread across Tsunade's features once more as she leaned back in her booth. So today hadn't been quite as chaotic as she had expected upon her winning streak. That was just fine with her.

Shizune sat next to Tsunade silently as she stacked the blonde's cash in piles. The raven haired woman remembered when she had first met Menma. He had just recently been released from Blood Prison. They had met each other in one of Tsunade's gambling hot spots. Tsunade had been estatic to see him, had questioned him seemingly endlessly. He had been on a mission for his new master, or so he said. He had never revealed who his 'master' was or his dealings. But Tsunade had been fine with that and so Shizune had too. The blond Sanin had tried to teach Menma Medical Ninjutsu but had been declined. By that time he had already gained his own style of fighting and said he had no use for the jutsu. Tsunade had pressed on teaching him something, but he had just been adament that he wanted to learn nothing from the Slug Sanin. So he had stayed with them for a night under the blonde's extreme offer. Shizune herself had been surprised to find how straight forwards he was in flirting with her. Flattering as it was, there had been something that put Shizune off about the boy. Something that remained to this very day.

Natsumi grunted as she tiredly walked towards the building in the Forest Of Death. Time was almost up for the exams. But her team had split up, and the blonde had been lucky enough to acquire the scroll that her squadron needed. As long as Sasuke and Sakura met her at the building as they were scheduled to, with their original scroll, then everything would just be alright. Natsumi stopped suddenly as she doubled over. Pain shot through her gut like fire and lightning clashing. Her eyes watered as she slid to the ground. Her grip released her scroll where it rolled across the ground before coming to a stop at someone's red-brown sandals. Lifting her head up as high as she could while fighting the pain, she found herself staring at the Kitsune mask of Menma. "It hurts doesn't it? That pain in your gut." She released a small whimper as the sixteen year old kicked her scroll back to her violently. "I hope it burns like the flames of Amaterasu. I hate you and your kind!"

"What are you even talking about!?" Menma's mask tilted to her.

"You Jinchuriki! I hate knowing that there are others out there like me. Hate knowing that you coexist with me." Natsumi grit her teeth fiercly as the pain inside of her intensified. Whatever was going on inside of her seal was definately this guy's fault. "Tell me... What do you fight for?" The blonde haired girl's eyes widened as her head snapped to the man's mask, pain jarring her. His kitsune mask was suddenly replaced by the visage of one of Natsumi's former enemies. Haku. His hair straightened and grew to a much longer degree. And then the image was broken as he spoke again. "Well? What do you fight for!?" Natsumi gritted her teeth with increasing pressure.

"My precious people..."

"I'm sorry. I don't think I quite heard you, Natsumi Namikaze."

"My precious people!" The Yondaime's daughter snarled angrily. "My friends and my family! My comrades and my village and the whole of Fire Country! That's what I fight for! That's why I'm strong!" Menma's eyes glared at her from behind his mask. Then he released a dark chuckle as the pain inside Natsumi intensified once again.

"No. That's why you're weak." Menma lurched forwards, his foot slamming into the girl's chest and knocking her to the ground where she sat pinned by the appendage. Natsumi's eyes clenched shut as the overwhelming feeling to puke almost overtook her. "Precious people. What are precious people? Your friends? The friends who can't truly understand the concept of you harvesting a Biju? Your comrades? The ones prepared to leave you behind on a mission? This country that is full of hate and discrimination!? No, you see Natsumi, you're not strong until you break your original bonds. You'll find new ones, you always do. But to be strong, you must have your own vision and your own way of going about them. That's why I don't listen to the ramblings of mad men. I have my own visage of this world. And I go about everything my own way. I use what technique I want when I want. But if daddy dearest tells you to jump, you ask how high? That... is why you're weak. Because you're willing to die for people that aren't willing to do so in turn." Using just a small amount of force Menma kicked his foot off of Natsumi knocking all of the air from her body out. "Remember that, Natsumi. Because that's all I'm going to teach you." And then he was gone.

Natsumi sat, gasping raggedly as she drew in shallow breaths. Black spots danced in her vision as she pushed herself to her feet. She staggered as she grabbed her scroll from the ground and continued her journey to the destination of the second exam. That guy, Menma, he was wrong. Wrong about everything. He had just been dealt a bad hand in life and had been taught completely wrong. He didn't realize the importance of precious people. But he would eventually. Natsumi would prove their worth to him. Just like she would for her long lost brother when she finally found him...

In Otogakure No sato, Kimimaro Kaguya caughed violently as he weezed. The oxygen mask over his face released a strange noise from the action. His heart monitor beeped wildly before it began to flatline. As it carried on, Kimimaro lurched upwards in his bed with his arms flying up to wildly tear at the bandages that had been tied around his eyes. As they fell away from his face, his breathing ragged, his vision became blurry. His green eyes tried to survey the room. It was no use. His energy leaving him, Kimimaro rested back into his place on his hospital bed. He stared at the ceiling as he continued to listen to the flatlined heart monitor. It must have been disconnected from him somehow. As his vision finally returned, he allowed his head to fall sideways. His green eyes widened fully at the Anbu like Kitsune mask that lay right next to his face. Glancing up he found a black haired whisker marked boy staring at him intently. "Hello, Kimimaro." The white haired boy said nothing as sharp pains erupted in his chest. "No, that's okay. You don't need to say anything. Just listen. You see, years ago I was taught a certain technique. The Chimera Technique. It may as well be deemed a holy jutsu. The ability to steal another's Kekkei Genkai."

The white haired boy released a ragged gasp as the whisker marked one nodded. "Yes I know. Shocking isn't it? That such power exists. But with people implanting Doujutsu every five minutes, well, it was bound to happen. But there was something wrong with the original technique. I know, because I've used it. It was imperfect. But I believe I've perfected it. If only to a certain degree." Kimimaro continued to stare at the boy. "You're probably wondering what this has to do with you. Simple really. I've heard all about you, Kimimaro. You're a warrior. And it's such a shame for a warrior to die in the same that you're soon to do with that disease of yours. So let's cut to the chase. You, Kimimaro, are the first that I will be using the new Chimera Technique on." Green eyes widened again as the Kaguya fought to sit back up with pain wracking his body. "Now now, Kimimaro. Don't worry. It'll all be over soon."

Minato frowned deeply as he sat to watch the preliminary rounds of the Chunin Exams. It wasn't often that too many Shinobi passed the first two exams. But when they did, it was exactly what this round was made for. As it were, only one Shinobi quit before the beginning of the preliminary. Kabuto Yakushi. It was strange that the boy had been in the exams a multitude of times. And had yet to pass once. But at the moment... Well that was the farthest thing from his mind. His wife had come to him in his office just as he had been getting prepared to set out. She had endlessly been researching seals and the Kyubi. And she had come across a particular scroll left behind by Mito Uzumaki, the original Jinchuriki for the Kyuubi. Kushina had explained that when a Biju was split in two, they would both regenerate. Basically, the red head had been proposing that the black haired boy, Menma, was their long lost son. Minato didn't quite believe. And even if he did, the possibilities of such were slim. After all, it could just be another Biju sealed inside of the boy. Or nothing at all as a matter of fact. The blond Hokage sighed as the computer screen read the names of the first two competitors.

"Hello Jiraiya of the Sanin." Menma's raspy voice spoke from behind his Kitsune mask as he walked through Konoha's gates. The white haired man had asked the guards of the gates about the mask wearer. And to know that he had left the village during the exams? well, it was needless to say that Jiraiya had patiently waited for his return. His dark eyes glared through the blackened eyeholes of the sixteen year old's mask.

"Nice day for a stroll, isn't it?" Jiraiya questioned as the black haired boy came to a stop just in front of him. "But not for one outside of the village. You're a Jonin for Amegakure, aren't you? You realize that the second exams have ended? You also realize how suspicious it makes you look leaving the village? We kind of have a security crisis existing right now." Menma fought the urge to chuckle at the white haired man. All Konoha shinobi were the same. If you don't protect comrades, you're scum. If you're suspicious looking, you may as well be on your way to Ibiki Morino. And if you're going around a corner, they were bound to rush headfirst into you.

"Yes I am a Jonin for Ame. But I've recieved word that all of my Genin were slaughtered inside of the Forest of Death. Set on fire if I heard correctly. A shame. But nothing that affects my village too greatly." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at the blatant disregard for the man's genin's lives. "And I am well aware of your security crisis. It might do you better to keep it under wraps than having Chunin and Jonin rushing across the rooftops. It's not my problem though. As for me leaving the village, well, I had an agenda to attend to. A mission for my Kage. If you don't believe me, contact him. At your own risk. He doesn't like foreign shinobi meddling in our affairs." With that, Menma brushed past Jiraiya. The older man's shoulder was forced backwards as the mask wearer walked in a straight line.

"I know who you are." Menma paused for the slightest moment before he released a chuckle. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he began walking forwards again.

"Is that so? Prove it."

Konan's attention was drawn away from the rather pathetic fight between two Konoha Kunoichi as her comrade slowly climbed that stairs towards her and the other Akatsuki Member's location. She looked over Menma's form for any indication that he had been in a battle recently. There was nothing. Of course he normally came out of battles unscathed anyways, but still. No, the only thing that was different about him was the new sword strapped to his waist. It's hilt was just barely visible to Konan from beneath the sixteen year old's outift. "Nice sword..." Deidara droned out as he sat cross leggedly on the catwalk, his right elbow propped on his his knee and his cheek propped in his hand. Upon his announcment, Hidan nodded in Menma's direction as he glared at the battle before him while toying with his scythe. It was easily noticeable that Kakuzu was counting in his head just how valuable the golden hilt itself was.

"You're late." Konan voiced her own thoughts as Menma came to stand next to her. The mask wearer remained silent for a moment before he slowly nodded. "You're 'genin' died in the last exam. If it hadn't been for that, do you know how suspicious it would have been for you to be late like you were?" Menma remained silent a while longer.

"But they did die. And I was well aware of that fact. So your point is invalid." Konan released a sigh at the boy's words as she nodded. For specific reasons, she was very protective of the boy. He knew that just as well as she did. But they both also knew he had his own agenda. What it was exactly, Konan herself didn't know yet. Menma glanced around the room as he watched Kakashi Hatake disappear with Sasuke Uchiha. "Tell me Konan... have you seen that Kabuto?" The blue haired woman nodded ever so slowly as she turned fully to stare at him.

"He forfeit the exams. Left. Why?" Menma stared ahead, his eyes seemingly to meet with a familiar looking Jonin across from them.

"Because he knows something that I wish to know. And I'm going to get it out of him soon." With that, Menma turned from her and began walking away. Konan's eyes narrowed at the action.

"You just arrived here and you're already leaving?"

"Why, yes, I am. Kakashi Hatake left with one of his students and left the other two. If there are any questions, just tell them that I'm mourning the loss of my 'students'." Konan released a noise from her throat as she watched Menma disappear. It was true that she didn't know what his exact agenda was. But she did know one thing. Whatever the Kuro Kyubi Jinchuriki was planning, it wasn't for the benefit of Madara or Nagato. With a sigh, Konan returned her attention back to the floor below her. The two Konoha Kunoichi were still trying to beat each other into submission...

Minato watched Menma arrive and leave almost immediately. It was strange for a Jonin to do so during this part of the exams, but not unheard of. Especially considering that his team had been slaughter. A deep frown over took his features as he rested his cheek on his fist. Was it possible that the same man that had threatened to run his wife through with a sword was his son? The Hokage knew that stranger things had happened. But the idea was still far out there. Minato's son had been a carbon copy of himself with a few facial features from Kushina. The only thing he seemed to have in common with the boy in front of him was their hairstyle, and even that wasn't exactly the same. But just the theory was eating away at Minato. And there was only one way for him to be entirely sure. _'I have to get that Kitsune mask off of his face..._'

Jiraiya and Kushina stared intently at each other as they sat in the Namikaze clan compound. Frowns were etched into their faces. They had both sought the other out to deliver their hypothesis. And it was no coincidence from the both of them to have come up with the exact same conclusion. And through different means of research at that. "So it looks like we both have the same idea then. This Menma gaki is actually Naruto. Does Minato know?" Kushina nodded slowly as she released a noise from her chest.

"Yes. I told him about it. But he doesn't quite believe it. For good reasons, I'd say. It just doesn't seem possible that he's our son. I mean, his hair went from blond to black? There are dyes out in the world, but his is definately natural. And that energy that rolls off of him? It's evil, Jiraiya. Pure evil." The white haired Sanin nodded slowly as he sighed rubbing his face.

"So what do we do, Kushina?"

Orochimaru chuckled darkly as he stared down Kakashi Hatake. Said masked Jonin currently held a ball of lightning in his hand. The chirping of a thousand birds filled the area that they sat in. The man's student, Sasuke, lay unconscious on the ground. "You're not going to kill me, Kakashi. No matter what you say. But I'm not going to put the health of my next vessel on the line. Take care of him for me, won't you, Kakashi." Said man glared dangerously at the Snake Sanin. "Just know this. Sasuke will come to me on his own. He wants power, and I'm the only one able to give it to him. Also, know that this is not the last time that I will make my presence known. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a little help next time." Kakashi never allowed his jutsu to die out as Orochimaru slowly vanished.

Yet when he was completely sure the man was gone, he dropped it as he released a sigh of relief. "What was I thinking? I was going to kill Orochimaru? The Snake Sanin? He laughed at me." Glancing at his student's prone body, his brow furrowed. A little help. Kakashi thought back to the platioon of dead Oto and Suna shinobi. Was it possible that the two had alligned? Yes, it definately was. And he would report it to his former sensei just for the security of the village. But that wasn't what he meant by little help. He was thinking of something else entirely. Kakashi just didn't know what it was. Looking away from the body of his student, Kakashi dropped to the ground. Perhaps Jiraiya would know. His spy network did stretch from all four corners of the world...

Kabuto Yakushi walked slowly through a cement, underground bunker. This was the location that had been given to him for his summon with Orochimaru. It was odd, considering that Kabuto hadn't ever learned of this place. It was possible that it was one of Orochimaru's old labs from before he had been caught. But that didn't seem too likely. Orochimaru was smart enough to realize that the Yondaime probably had his old labs swarmed with shinobi. Waiting on him. It was also a possibility that it was a secret underground war bunker. But still, the Yondaime would have known about it and would no doubt have shinobi on high alert with it. It just didn't quite make sense. "Hello? Orochimaru-Sama?" The sound of ninja sandals clacking brought his attention behind himself where the kitsune masked form of Menma approached. Kabuto frowned deeply. He knew this man. Not personally. But through Orochimaru's briefings on him.

"Hello, Kabuto." The white haired boy stiffened as Menma came to a complete halt. "I heard from a certain source that you know something that I want to know." Kabuto's eyes narrowed.

"Is that so? Maybe I do... Maybe I don't." Menma chuckled darkly at the boy's attempt at a back and fourth conversation.

"The Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple... where is it?" Kabuto's eyes widened as he heard the statement. Orochimaru had discovered the temple on accident. But nobody could enter it. Because no one had an Uzumaki to get through. But if this was the boy that Orochimaru constantly paired his subordinates to...

"I'll never tell you anything. You can get that information from my cold dead body." Menma's raspy chuckle filled the room again, forcing Kabuto to shiver.

"So be it." Chains rattled loudly as a pair of Kusarigama slid from his sleeves. "I'll learn of the temple's whereabout, even if I have to rip the information from your skull all on my own!" Kabuto released a grunt as he jumped backwards from Menma, who lurched forwards.


	4. Chapter 3

Menma slung his first Kusarigama through the air. Kabuto rolled to the side to avoid the weapon. The second of the two slung sideways in an arch. With practiced effort, Kabuto leaned backwards allowing the weapon to fly over him. Menma descended from the air above its chain, slamming into Kabuto's chest. The white haired boy cried out as he stumbled. Spinning on his left heel Menma struck out with his foot barely missing his opponent's temple. Said snake disciple lashed out with a vicious left hook. Menma pulled backwards with the boy's fist sailing straight past his mask. Kabuto followed up with a right hook which was dodged in a similar fashion. Lurching forwards, Menma's foot slammed into Kabuto's gut. The glasses wearer cried out again before he released his own kick, which Menma ducked underneath. This kick was followed by a series of follow up kicks that Menma jumped into the air, spinning, to avoid. As he landed in a crouched position, Menma kicked himself up off of the ground with his foot slamming into Kabuto's chin. Kabuto stumbled again as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. Said boy growled as his hand surrounded itself with chakra.

Lurching forwards, he release a barrage of strikes with his bodily weapon. Menma chuckled darkly at his opponent as he dodged backwards with every attack. Thrusting his arms outwards in a T shape, two kunais attached to chains flew from his sleeves before embedding themselves in the wall. Flipping forwards, his red-brown sandals slammed into the back of Kabuto's skull. Using the moment from the chains, Menma preformed a backflip, his feet slamming into his opponent's face. Kabuto's glasses broke with a crunch before they fell to the cement floor. Blurry lines filled Kabuto's vision as he stuck his hand out to try to grab ahold of something solid. In return, Menma's foot slammed into the side of his face sending him stumbling to the ground. With a sharp tug the two kunai returned to his sleeves before his pair of Kusarigama swung through the air. Kabuto finally released a full scream as the two weapons pierced into his shoulders before being ripped out. As these two chain weapons returned to their resting place in his sleeves, Menma reached over his shoulder. As he drew his first sword, Kabuto stumbled over himself on the ground. "Has Orochimaru told you about this sword?" Menma questioned as Kabuto drew in a rough ragged breath. "No? Then let me give you its details. This sword is the Kusangi-No-Tsurugi. The real Kusangi. The blade that your master's sword was based off of. But this sword is far more powerful. The originals always are. Did you know that when this sword pierces you, your body feels as if it's on fire? It's almost unbearable really."

Kabuto released a pathetic sound as he moved backwards. The real Kusangi pierced through his hand, holding him in place. And true to Menma's words it burned like fire. Kabuto's screams echoed throughout the underground bunker as he fought to free his appendage. Menma stalked forwards towards his opponent. But as he came close to the boy, Kabuto ripped his arm backwards. A large gash straight through his hand was formed as chakra surrounded it, immediately trying to fix the damage while the boy fought against his pain. "It's not going... To be that easy... To beat me!" Menma simply laughed at his opponent's words. And then, the Nine Masked Beast slammed into. Attack after relentless attack. The white haired boy tried to fight back against the entities, but was quickly overwhelmed as the Shinigami's scythe's power ripped through him. His chakra reserves immediately dropped as he fell down to his knees. With a sharp signal from Menma's arm, his weapons quit attacking as he walked forwards. As he reached Kabuto, Menma lashed out with a vicious kick across the boy's skull, sending him to the ground dazed. Blood leaked freely from Kabuto as he struggled to regain his bearings and find his footing. Menma was immediately in front of him, sneding him skipping along the ground with his repulsion technique. As Kabuto came to a stop, Menma's right foot slammed onto his chest driving all of the air from his lungs.

"I seemed to be plagued by pests. Pests that refuse to simply give me what I ask for. Now, I'm only going to ask this one more time. Where is the Temple, Kabuto?" The white hair boy beneath his foot weezed as he made laughing noises. Then, he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Menma's eyes widened behind his mask as Kabuto came rushing towards him with the Kusangi. His Nine Masked Beasts were too slow as the white haired boy brought the sword down in a slashing motion. However, Menma's newly aquired sword met it in mid air, forcing Kabuto's eyes to widen.

"How-"

"Shocked? You're probably wondering to yourself how this is possible. After all, I claimed that to be the original Kusangi. The sword that can meld through metal and cleave diamond in two. Make no mistake, that is the Kusangi. But the sword you see in my hand? Well, this is Excalibur. Not as well known in our region, but in other's. This sword was supposedly gifted to Tobirama Senju by a 'Lady of the Lake'. He then gifted it to his brother, Hashirama Senju. This sword is the only one with the ability to completely negate Kusangi's intangible blade." Kabuto grit his teeth as the much more experienced swordsman pushed him backwards. "Do you really hope to beat me in a ssword battle? The boy who trained with your master in the art of swords? The boy who trained with Kisame Hoshigaki and his Samehada? You must be insane, Kabuto." Suddenly, Menma pulled his arm to the side. Excalibur sent the Kusangi flying into the air. Using Kabuto's shocked form to his advantage, Menma spun on his right foot with his left slamming into the boy's face. As Kabuto stumbled away, Menma reached up and caught his original sword before placing it on his back. He followed this action up by sheathing Excalibur.

Menma's Nine Masked Beasts disappeared together as the black haired teen raised his hand into the air, with his familiar dark purple and white ringed chakra ball forming in his hand. The mask wearer reached down, grasping Kabuto by his throat, before he lifted him into the air. Menma himself levitated off of the floor as Kabuto struggled to get out of the boy's grip. "Spiralling Ring." The ball of chakra tore into Kabuto's gut as he screamed loudly. It bounced off of the walls around the two as he tried to break Menma's grip with renewed vigor. As the ball of Chakra finally disappeared, Menma released his grip on the boy. His black eyes watched as he fell to the ground with a loud thump. As Menma's feet landed on the cement floor, he raised his right arm into the air. "Heavenly Prison Fire Sword." Kabuto struggled with his position on the ground as he raised his head. His eyes widened in fear as he saw the black haired boy descend on him with his hand surrounded by a fire sword. He had seen the bodies in the forest. The bodies of the Suna, Oto, and Ame ninja. There was no doubt in the boy's mind that it was the techinque that Menma was about to use on him that had caused it all.

"Wait... please..." Kabuto forced his injured right arm into the air as Menma came to a halt, lowering his arm slightly. "I'll tell you anthing you want to know... Just... Just please don't kill me!"

Orochimaru paused in his walk as his former Akatsuki trainee passed him from one of his hiding places within Konoha. The black haired boy continued to walk until he was shoulder to shoulder with the Snake Sanin. Then he too halted. "You've let yourself slip in who you chose for your subordinates. They lead me on a wild goose chase for a while. But in the end, I got what I was looking for." Orochimaru chuckled at the boy's words. It hadn't been too long ago that Orochimaru had finally deciphered exactly what the boy was after. The masks inside of that Uzumaki Temple.

"Bravo, Menma-Kun. But what exactly are you going to do with the masks? Your organization doesn't need them. You don't need them. Perhaps they would be better off in that Temple. Don't you think?" Menma chuckled at the man. He definately had a silver tongue. If Menma were a lesser man he may have already changed his mind about going to the Temple. But he wasn't a lesser man. And he wasn't someone to be outsmarted by Orochimaru.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? The masks sitting there, waiting for you to drag someone of Uzumaki descent along inside? No, I'm retrieving the masks. As for why? You're correct, the Organization of Akatsuki does not desire them. But I am not your typical Akatsuki member. I do not fold to the ravings of a mad man. It is why I will not fold to your typical small talk. The kind that always gets you out of situations. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to be tending to. Kabuto is in you base. He's injured. Quite a few burns I'd say. But you can save him. If you truly want to." Orochimaru released a snarl as he glared at Menma from the corner of his eyes. "And when you begin your invasion, I'd be careful of your summons. I was your apprentice, and they preferred me over you. They still do. That will never change." With his piece spoken, Menma left Orochimaru alone to tend to Kabuto.

Jiraiya stared at the blond haired girl in front of him. Natsumi was always eager to learn, and when her father had told her she was going to be training with one of the Sanin, she had been estatic. And Jiraiya had expected her to excel. Just not as quickly as she was. She had already summoned the Toad Boos, Gamabunta. Yes, there was definately something special about Natsumi Namikaze. With a sigh, the white haired Sanin placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Natsumi, I know you don't want to learn to control... It's chakra." The gril looked at him with a frown. It was true that Minato had been training her to control the Kyuubi's chakra. Kushina had too. But after she had gotten to a certain level, the Kyuubi itself had taken over and tried to slaughter the two parents. Natsumi had been mortified. "But there's something I need to tell you. That black haired boy... Menma?"

Natsumi frowned at the name. Her mind instantly went back to their first encounter. That malovent energy. Then when she saw him before the beginning of the second exams. The pain. The pain that had intensified when he had attacked her during the second exams. She hadn't told anyone. Had played it off as one of the attending Genin teams. She wasn't exactly wure why she had covered up for the Ame Jonin, but she had. "What about him?"

"Your mother and I... We believe he's your brother." Natsumi's eyes widened to considerable proportions.

Sasuke Uchiha watched Hinata Hyuuga scower the village looking for someone. The raven haired boy was surrounded by a multitude of fangirls. Not that he minded. He would date them, and then he would pretend they didn't exist. It was his method of operation. And it was what kept them all running back. Except the Hyuuga. Not that he liked the girl, especially considering how she disrespected her clan with her attitude. But it did catch his attention when she was storming down the streets, muttering to herself, with her Byakugan active. He wasn't quite sure if someone had pissed her off, but if they had? He pitied their souls. The girl acted as if she was always pissed off anyways.

HInata stormed through the village looking for Menma. She had seen the black haired boy around the village with the blue haired woman from Amegakure. And she would be damned if she was going to let someone take the boy away from her after she had just found him. No, she planned to find him soon. And from there, she wasn't quite sure what she would do. But she would have Menma. There was no doubt in her mind about that.

Obito frowned behind his mask as he stared at the black haired whisker marked boy before him. While it was in holographic form, the Uchiha had not known how long the boy had been watching him sleep. It unnerved him. "What is it?" Menma remained silent, staring at the orange mask wearer as he rose from his scot in his underground bunker. "Well? I'm not going to sit here and wait on an answer all day."

"I've located the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple. I'm going to be entering it soon to retrieve the masks inside." The Uchiha frowned at the boy's distorted voice. He had truly hoped that the boy would get fully on board with his and Madara's Eye Of The Moon Plan. But he hadn't. It was no doubt that he was Obito's heir and legacy. But they didn't share the same views. Just as he knew the boy and Nagato didn't share the same views. The boy had his own vendetta. And he wouldn't get on anyone else's plan fully until he had atleast completed his own. And even then... He would still do things his own way. It was annoying to know that his heir was not his puppet. But at least he was strong.

"I don't care."

"I know you don't. You only care about the Eye Of The Moon Plan. But I don't. I'm giving you a fair warning, _Madara_." Obito's eye narrowed as he listened to Menma's distorted, raspy voice. "I'm not protecting the Jinchuriki here. I can't. I hate knowing that they exist. And I hate the idea of all of the Biju in one container. I hate the idea of a new Jinchuriki. The Power of the Kuro Kyubi is absolute. If one of those people stand in my way, I will slaughter them. And I will kill Orochimaru on my own terms. Not yours. If I do not wish to kill him the day of the Final Exams, then he will not die that day. And if you don't like my views, _Madara_, well... You can come and find me. Now can't you?" The holographic image fizzled for a moment before it disappeared. Obito's right eye blazed with rage. Menma was known to speak his mind. But it seemed he was getting too free. If Obito didn't so something soon, the Kuro Kyubi Jinchuriki could be lost to the Akatsuki. Perhaps he was already lost to them...

Nagato sat alone in his normal place of rest. His six paths moved about freely, seeing for him. One in particular picked up the conversation between Madara and Menma. It caused Nagato to smirk slightly. He was very skeptical of Madara himself. As was Konan. But neither would speak out against the man. Even though they didn't truly believe in his plan, they stayed with his organization to reach their own. Menma was different. He didn't hide his views. He didn't believe that the world deserved peace. He believed if the world wanted peace enough, then the humans within it would find that peace. He believed that all Jinchuriki, barring himself of course, should be destroyed. No other Biju. Especially no Jubi. Nagato himself was beginning to understand Menma's point of view. The idea of one man holding power over a perfect world created by a Genjutsu... It wasn't appealing.

And niether was his own plan. The plan to create the ultimate weapon to be used time and again when humans began to start wars. It would just escalate to the point where war would be between the controller of the weapon, and all of the Shinobi villages. The red head's Rinnegan eyes turned to those of Itachi Uchiha's as he entered Nagato's domain. "Well?" Nagato questioned with his eyes trained on the Uchiha. The long haired man shook his head in a negative motion as he held his hand out. In it was a crushed ring. Menma's Akatsuki ring.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Menma is no longer an active member of Akatsuki." Nagato nodded at the emotionless Uchiha as he closed his eyes. It was exactly as he thought. Menma had his vision of the world and his own methods of dealing with it. His methods went completely against Madara's, to be truthful. He was more of a lone figure. It was why he never truly applied himself to the Akatsuki's goals. And Nagato completely understood this. Perhaps that was the better path to follow.

"Don't alert Madara."

"I hadn't planned to."

Menma stood outside of the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Storage Temple. The building was crumpling to the ground. Ruined. Not that Menma really cared. He only cared about the treasures inside of the mask. Twenty Seven Shinigami masks. Orochimaru knew of their existence and knew that they all had potential of something. But he didn't exactly know what. Menma did. Each mask was the representation of a different Shinigami who had part of its power sealed into the mask by an Uzumaki. And each mask had its own specific power related to that specific Shinigami. There was, however, a trick to the masks. It was only for the bodies of Uzumaki's. Without their strong life span, the Shinigami's power would destroy their life force. It was why it was a not so bright move on Kushina's part to leave them in the building. If she truly was even aware of their existence. And it wasn't particularly that Menma had need for the masks. No, he could destroy anyone in his way on his own. But he didn't need anyone having the power of a true Shinigami on their side. Especially people like Orochimaru, and the Madara imposter. Menma allowed a chuckle to escape his lips as he brought his right hand up and removed his Kitsune mask. As he attached it to his side, he surveyed his immediate area critically.

There was no doubt that Itachi had discovered his broken Akatsuki ring. It hadn't been a deliberate planned out action. No, it had been more in the heat of the moment. It was for the best. Menma did not like to play by the Akatsuki's rules and regulations. He preferred to play by his own. Preferred to know the world that he was bringing about and how successfully it was being done. Perhaps the imposter Madara's plans had once been something more. Perhaps created by the true Madara himself. Menma didn't know. But that plan had become watered down. It would never be achieved in the present day world. Once the Akatsuki began to assemble the Jinchuriki, they would band together. That was definately a future advantage for Menma. When they began to strike, he could murder a few Jinchuriki and put the heat off on the Akatsuki. And if all else failed, the Kuro Kyuubi Jinchuriki always had a backup plan.

The black haired boy glanced down to his hand as he unclenched it. In his palm sat three Akatsuki rings. A smirk overtook his features. It was true that Menma preferred to do things alone. But that didn't mean it wasn't to his benefit to have allies. And who better than those inside the organization he was wiping his hands free of? With a chuckle, Menma hid the rings away as he walked forwards into the Uzumaki Temple.

Menma sat alone in Konoha's Chunin Stadium's stands. His normal kitsune mask had been forsaken, for the moment, by a half face mask. Such as Kakashi Hatake's, so as not to draw too much unwanted attention to himself. The black haired teen had watched the Final Exams closely as he waited for the invasion to begin. He had chosen whose side he would fight for. And now, all he needed to do was wait for that small signal. But it just seemed that it wasn't quite going to come. In the arena below, Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara No Sabaku battled each other relentlessly. The Uchiha had activated his Sharingan early on in the battle. It was only two tomo's. His eyes were considerably weak. If he had any ounce of vengence in him, as Itachi insisted he did, he had a long way to go to be able to kill his older sibling. Menma's eyes roamed over the people in attendance.

In the Kage box, the Hokage sat side by side with the Kazekage. All of the Kage's were in the village. Menma was absolutely positive of that. The other three had simply refused to sit in the box and had relocated themselves with their respective Shinobi. Menma lowered his gaze and stared at the battle once again. Neither Genin had gained any advantage over the other. Just like this invasion. Neither side would win, and neither side would lose. They would struggle back and fourth and would never get anything over on the other. It was why Menma despised so many people. They killed and wounded and maimed, and all for nothing. He knew first hand human being's vicious cycle. It was why his way to peace worked best. Peace can not exist first without war. That is what the Madara imposter had overlooked.

Minato stared across the arena at the black haired form of Menma. It had been hard to pick him out of the crowd without his kitsune mask, but he had eventually done so. Still only being able to see the upper part from his eyes and above, Minato couldn't tell if it was indeed his son. But he would find out. Before everything was said and done in these exams, he would know for sure if Menma of Amegakure was indeed his son. Breaking this train of thought, Minato's blue eyes drifted over towards the Kazekage seated next to him. His eyes narrowed. It was strange that when all other Kage's had refused the Kage box and resided with their Shinobi that the Kazekage had _insisted_ upon sitting with Minato. The blond knew something big was to happen during these exams. Jiraiya's spy networks had even said so. They didn't quite know what it was... But Minato knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Kazekage seated next to him had something to do with it. A kunai sparkled brightly next to him as the cement tiles nect to his chair chipped away. Minato nodded seemingly to himself. He wasn't the Hokage for nothing.

Orochimaru grinned to himself from behind the Kazekage's veil. Konoha was basically destroyed already. The burning buildings just had not been set ablaze quite yet. The fool Yondaime Hokage seemed completely oblivious. It was laughable really. After all of the events that had unfolded during the Chunin Exams, he still continued on as if nothing was wrong. His eyes fell upon the form of Menma across the arena. His grin spread even wider. And wouldn't it shock the Hokage to discover his little helper? The Yondaime's long lost son finally revealed, just before his father's head was removed from his shoulders. Of course after the death of the Yondaime and his wife, Menma would be the next to go. Orochimaru just couldn't risk having someone of his calliber left in the world. It was saddening to see such potential go to waste. But what needed to be done would be done. Besides, with Menma dead, Orochimaru could finally claim the true Kusangi-No-Tsurugi. And the Excalibur. He wasn't quite up to date on that paricular sword. But Kabuto had attested for its strength. And if it helped Orochimaru achieve his goals in the long run, then so be it.

Blood sprayed from Gaara's sand shield as his opponent's 'Chidori' pierced his shoulder. Menma felt anger rise throughout him as the insane child allowed the Shukaku to take control of his body. The Shukaku needed to die. Just like all the other Biju. If the Jinchuriki survived, Menma couldn't really care less. But if they stood in the way? They would simply fall with their demon. A world of peace could not exist filled with demons that walked the Earth. They would fall. Under Menma's power would all of the Biju fall. Feathers fell from the sky as Gaara went through his tranformation. With haste, Menma's eyes bled red as he rushed forwards. This was the signal he had been waiting for. There was no doubt in his mind about it. The invasion of Konohagakure No Sato had begun. Jumping sideway, one of his Kusarigama fell from his sleeve before implanting itself in a Konoha Shinobi's skull...

As the feather's rained down and blood began to be shed, Minato's eyes narrowed as the Kazekage lunged for him. His body disappeared in a flash of yellow as he teleported to his planted Kunai. As he did so, the cement by his chair that had been cracking broke completely as Jiraiya ascended with his fist slamming into Orochimaru's jaw. This action sent the Snake Sanin stumbling back in shock, his eyes ablaze with rage. '_This is impossible! They couldn't have possibly known!' _As Orochimaru raged in his mind, he gave his bodyguards, the sound four, their signal to build there barrier. Jiraiya or not, the Yondaime Hokage would die! Minato flashed away for the briefest of moments before he reappeared. One of the Sound Four tumbled across of the rooftop they sat in as Minato waved his hand.

"Jiraiya! Keep them from doing whatever it is they're planning!"

"Hai!" Jiraiya rushed towards Orochimaru's bodyguards as said Snake Sanin chuckled loudly. Reaching up, the paled man grabbed ahold of his face before beginning to peel off the Kazekage's skin. Minat's eyes widened in shock as he watched Orochimaru reveal himself.

"Surprised... Minato?"

Gazed up at Konoha's village gates where multiple giant snakes descended upon Konoha. Behind the gates, one giant toad stood threatningly with his sword drawn. Gamambunta the Toad Boss. Menma wasn't stupid. If Jiraiya of the Sanin just so happened to be in the village, and knew of Orochimaru's attack... Well there would be more than just one toad in the vicinity. Many more than Orochimaru would be able to summon. Menma's eyes glanced around himself at the Konoha Ninja that surrounded him. And he laughed. His Nine Masked Beast slammed into nine of them, sending them spiralling away. Lurching forwards Menma's hand slammed into one of the men's chest. "Fire Release:Heavenly Prison!" Spinning on his right foot, Menma's left slammed into the side of his skull. The attack sent him skidding as the normal red X crossing pattern appeared over his chest. The black haired boy ducked underneath a kick from one of the men's comrades before preforming a back bend underneath a sword thrust. Menma's right hand began to flicker dangerously. "Heavenly Prison Fire Sword!" The flames immediately tore through two of the men. They screamed as it pierced through their bodies. The flame sword slammed into a third person's skull. As the three people burst into flames, Menma backflipped into the air as Kakashi Hatake's Raikiri attempted to pierce through him. The normal Kitsune Mask wearer's black eyes shifted to the gates where Manda and Gamabunta had met each other for battle. The snake's were already down in numbers. "Cute..."

Gamabunta's eyes widened considerably as a loud summoning was heard. Right next to Manda, a giant Salamander had appeared. As the smoke floated around the dangerous creature, a black haired human launched himself from the head of the summon onto Manda's own head. The snake boss hissed as he felt the weight on his skull. "Menma." The black haired boy shook his head at the boss summon.

"No, I'm just a clone. The time has come Manda. To make the decision of whose side you're on here." Gamabunta watched the scene in confusion. He was far too intent on watching the scene to notice that duplicate black haired boy flying at his from his side. As this particular Menma's hand slammed into the Toad Boss' chest, the Menma upon Manda's skull disappeared in a swirl of flames. "Fire Release: Great Fire Heavenly Prison!" Gamabunta released a scream of pain as a much larger version of the normal seal placed upon people spread across his chest glowing red. The new Menma clone landed on his skull as the Toad tried to fight the pain. In seconds, the giant Toad disappeared in a plume of smoke as Menma's clone launched himself over onto his Salamander summon. Manda sent the boy a gaze. "It's a much stronger version of my normal seal. Meant for much bigger things. With it on Gamabunta, there was no way for chakra to be channeled through him from Jiraiya. Therefore, there was no way for him to stay here in your path. Now, Manda... your decision."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you would stoop to such a low level... Should I Orochimaru?" The Snake Sanin laughed at the blond haired Hokage as he watched Jiraiya fight off his bodyguards. For now he was able to hold them off. But the numbers game would eventually catch up to him. And then all of his plans would be right back on track. Everything would be exactly as it should be. With Konoha in rubble and Orochimaru one step closer to achieving his ultimate goal.

"But you are. You trusted me even when the evidence of betrayal was directly in front of your face. That's why you're weak Minato. That's why, today, you're going to die with you village!" Minato's frown deepened as he brandished one of his famous kunai knives.

"No more talk, Orochimaru."

Natsumi grunted as she backflipped over onto a tree branch. The blond haired girl and her two teammates had followed after the Shukaku Gaara after he had fled from the stadium. Along the way, they had encountered the boy's two siblings whom had both been attacked by more of Natsumi's Genin comrades. Now, Sakura sat pinned by the Shukaku, and Sasuke sat on a tree branch. He had been injured by the giant monster. The whisker marked girl growled loudly as the Shukaku laughed sadistically at her from Gaara's body. Raising her thumb to her lips, she bit into the appendage and allowed blood to leak as she flipped through now familiar hand seals. She had no choice but to use this specific technique if her and her friends were to survive this invasion.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he watched Menma's right hand begin to glow with dark purple electricity. White chakra energy surrounded the dark purple chakra as the sounds of a Raikiri split the air. "How..? That's..."

"Impossible? No, it's not. I've had much practice deciphering enemy Shinobi Jutsu and using it against them and their comrades. You're just another name on the long list of shinobi, Kakashi Hatake." Rearing his arm back, Menma rushed forwards to Kakashi. However, at the final moment before the jutsu could connect with the masked man, Menma dodged to the side, something Kakashi himself couldn't quite achieve with the straight forward attack of Raikiri, before slamming the technique into the chest of a Konoha Anbu member. The person behind the mask released a choked sound as Gai appeared from the sky before slamming into Kakashi. He had of course been aiming for Menma. The Anbu fell to the ground where her mask fell away from her face. It was Yugao Uzuki whose fiance had just previously been murdered a few days prior. As Kakashi and Gai fought each other too their feet in their daze, Menma appeared in between them both with his arms outstretched, his black eyes glaring dead ahead of himself. "Shinra Tensei."

Orochimaru and Minato briefly stopped their battle as the now damaged Chunin stadium rumbled from Menma's technique. Off to the side, Gamabunta, whom had been resummoned by Natsumi, transformed into the Kyuubi No Kitsune as it rushed towards Shukaku. orochimaru frowned as he watched Jiraiya struggle to keep all four of his bodyguards at bay. It was only a matter of time now into everything fell into place.

Menma released an enreaged scream as his eyes shot to the side. The Kyuubi and Shukaku, both outside of their seal. It was horrible enough to know that he was surrounded by Jinchuriki. The Hachibi and Nibi's off to the side protecting their Kage. One Jinchuriki here. One over there. But they had decided that they were just going to start releasing the beasts? This was why Jinchuriki were insufficient. They relied so heavily on their demonic power that when push came to shove, they couldn't fight a fair battle. Menma growled in pain as his Nine Tailed Beasts energy slammed into his body. The black haired boy staggered in pain as it did so before his eyes turned red and a fox like slit became his pupil.

The four Akatsuki members sent to Konoha sat atop the stadium overlooking the entire battlefield. Fire licked the ground as corpses burned. Demons fought demons. And Menma stood on out amongst it all. He carved destruction in every direction. It was no surprise. They all had seen it before. It was what the boy had been bred for. That was his place on Earth. To kill and murder without remorse. "What do we do now, hm? There's no doubt that Menma's fighting over on Orochimaru's side." Konan frowned at Deidara's comment as she glanced to him. Then her gaze returned to Menma. She knew him far better than anyone in the Akatsuki could guess she did. Konan nodded slowly as she raised her hand.

"Retreat. There's no way that we can defeat Menma if he over on Orchimaru's side. There's no reason for us to be here anymore anyways. The majority of the Jinchuriki here are fighting together. The only one running the risk of death is the Shukaku Jinchurik. Hopefully he won't be too much of a loss if he does die." The other three Akatsuki members nodded dutifully before they all jumped away to leave the battlefield behind them.

Natsumi's eyes widened as she was knocked off of the Gamabunta/Kyuubi by a third demon. A second Kyuubi. Except that this one was black, and gave off the essence of pure evil. Atop the Demon as Natsumi had just been was Menma. His eyes glared at the two Jinchuriki around him as Gamabunta returned to his original form. The, the giant summon disappeared from the lack of chakra to keep him on the battlefield. As the Kuro Kyubi rushed the Shukaku, smashing into the beast and sending it flying, Menma launched himself from the demon with his feet crashing straight into Natsumi's chest. The girl cried out in pain as she was knocked from her place upon a branch onto the cold unforgiving ground below. "Now, Natsumi Namikaze... You will know true pain... As I have my entire life!"

I'm done writing for now. I just don't really feel like it. I've had an allergic reaction to something, which is why I was able to type up three chapters. Nothing else to do when your whole body's itching. Anyway, before I go, a few things. So, Menma/Naruto's two swords are the Kusanagi-No Tsurugi, found at 2012/06/08/legendary-sword/ . You'll have to scroll down to find the image. And Excalibur, which the version I'm using can be found at trail/7_ . The image of the sword will pretty much be at the bottom of the page. For Sasuke's personality, you can kind of think of a mix between his normal self and his Road to Ninja counterpart. Kind of a playboy with a cold attitude. And Menma is on his own side, just for the reference. He's fighting for his own ideals now, not anyone else's. Also, I know this probably looks kind of Naru/Hina Menma/Hina, but it's not. I just really don't see any real reason for it. Plus there's gonna be some real tension between Menma and others pretty soon. I'd rather not have to add Hinata into all of it from Mena's point of view's side. So, please don't request as NaruHina pairing. It's really just not going to happen in this story. Menma and people from Konoha, they're not gonna mix in this story.


	5. Chapter 4

Sorry guys. I know it probably seemed like this was going to be a Menma Hinata pairing in the story due to a few scenes, but it's not happening. I just don't get into the pairing. As of right now, there still isn't even a pairing for Menma. It may just stay like that. I don't know, PM me a pairing. If it fits the Menma mood I might put a poll out on it. If not, well, it's gonna end up like the Menma Hinata pairing. Also, don't expect any reform between the Namikaze/Uzumaki clan. Menma hates his family with his entire being. There's no going back for him.

Menma looked around himself slowly as he took in the scenery around him. Flames blazed wildly in the forest surrounding him. The Kuro Kyubi had pinned the Shukaku down by its neck. The Sand Demon screamed in pain as it fought against the stronger Biju. Sasuke Uchiha laid upon a branch trying to force himself into a sitting position. Sakura Haruno laid without a care in the world. The Shukaku's sand had pooled around her after being attacked by Menma's Kyubi. And Hinata Hyuuga held the Kusanagi-No-Tsurugi to his sister's throat. The girl had blazed into the forest intent on rescuing her comrades. That had ended when she had come face to face with Menma. She had declared her knowledge of who exactly he was. And how she had recognized him due to her love for him. It was ludicris really. Menma remembered the girl from long ago. She had followed him around aimlessly from behind bushes and trees. In her own words, she had looked up to his courage to face the world alone.

The girl was lost in fantasies. She was just as mad as the man claiming to be Madara was. She wanted to live in a world that could not exist. A world where Menma existed in Konoha, with her, in love. Menma held no love for Konoha, nor any of the people that lived in it. But he would always use everything to his advantage. It was what every one of his teachers had taught him. He had twisted the girl's words around in her mouth. Declared that what she 'loved' of him was a mere delusion based off of a blurry memory. She had heartily denied the statement as tears leaked from her eyes, proving that deep down inside she was still the same stuttering girl she had always been. And so, Menma had twisted the scenario around. Where it had been the girl trying to save Natsumi from Menma, it was now that girl trying to kill Natsumi to prove love to Menma. Hinata lowered herself to the ground as she delicately placed Menma's sword to Natsumi's throat.

Menma released a quick breath as his eyes flashed red. It was typical of Konoha shiinobi. Comrades come first. The mission next. It was the reason that Menma was more dangerous than any Konoha shinobi. Where they were more worried about getting their comrades to safety, Menma was only worried about his agenda. "Hinata! Don't do it!" Menma's eyes shot to where Sasuke sat on the branch. His body was at an ackward angle. His right eye had been swolen shut, but his left examined the scene. "Please, think about this! We're comrades! Friends!" Hinata's hand trembled violently. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Spinning, the girl tried to split Menma in half with his Kusanagi. Instead, she found his Excalibur buried through her stomach, two Sharingan eyes set ablaze in their sockets. The black haired boy chuckled darkly as he straightened out, ripping the Kusanagi from her grasp. Blood dribbled from her lips as she glared at the apparent Sharingan wielder. Her Byakugan flashed on and off with instinct.

"You're not Naruto..."

"To think..." Menma spoke as he twirled the Kusanagi expertly in his right hand. "That all of my planning is trying to come undone." Menma glared up at Sasuke as he pointed his sword towards him, whilst lowering his half face mask to reveal his features. "Because of people like you! You Konoha Shinobi that try to talk sense into people when there isn't even enough sense in this world to live in it! You're right, Hinata, I'm not Naruto. Not anymore." Hinata struggled to remove Excalibur from her body as Sasuke tried to pick himself up. He only succeeded in falling from the branch onto the floor below. "But I made you believe that I was. When you first encountered me, I used my Sharingan on you. I cast the illusion that you knew who I was. How else would someone like you understand me?" Menma questioned mockingly as he placed his foot on the bleeding girl's throat. "From there, it was all academy student tricks. The Sharingan implanted the thought of me being Naruto in your mind. It haunted you and you found yourself trying to seek me out, even when you didn't want to. And then, when all of this occured, you would kill my sister. I in turn would kill you, and be welcomed back as a hero. And then, I would kill my father and raze this village to the ground. But now things have changed, haven't they? Because of you!"

Menma turned on Sasuke's battered form as he began to march towards him. "You and all of your comraderie bullshit! Oh Hinata, don't kill Natsumi! She's our friend, or comrade!" Menma's foot slammed into Sasuke's chest as his eyes blazed wildly, spinning as they morphed into a new design. Sasuke's left eye stared into a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The black on red design appeared to be similar to a four starred shurikan, except that the ends came over into scythe like branches intersecting back into the original design. "You Konoha ninja seem to do the impossible sometimes. To think, the power of Shisui Uchiha's eyes would be dominated by a little punk!" Sasuke cried out as Menma's foot ground into his chest. "But luckily, there's more to these eyes than just Shisui's power." Menma moved his head sideways as Neji Hyuuga came sailing past him. His beaten from panted heavily as he swirled trying to use his Kekkei Genkai on his opponent. "Tsukuyomi!" Neji immediately stiffened as his eyes met Menma's own. Falling to the ground, he grasped at his hair as he screamed violently. "You see, Shisui's eyes were a donor down the line. But I had a pair of Sharingan eyes long before that. Yes, you see, using my Chimera Technique, I aquired the eyes of Madara Uchiha!" Menma's eyes glowed violently as he stared down upon Sasuke. "Ama-"

"Enough!" Natsumi crashed into Menma, sending them both tumbling along the ground. Her hands grasped at his throat as she fought to grapple him. "I'm not going to let you kill anyone else!" The blond glared dangerously as her hands were held inches from Menma's throat. In her rage, she didn't even care to look at his facial features. With a snarl, Menma sent his sister stumbling back along the ground as he stood back to his feet. Walking forwards, Menma attached his Kusanagi onto his back before grasping Excalibur by its handle. With a violent tug, it was ripped out of Hinata's stomach as she screamed. Glaring at the bodies laying around him, Menma glanced back at the Chunin stadium. His eyes burned brightly as he glanced over at the battling Biju. Kuro Kyubi's entire being stiffened before it burst apart into seperate beings once again. Shukaku laughed sadistically, thinking itself to somehow bested the moer powerful being.

"Amaterasu!" The laughter was cut short as black flames danced on the giant beast, around its containers dangling form upon its skull. The beast stumbled backwards as the flames licked away at its demonic skin, roaring in anguish. Lifting his hand into the air, a second Menma appeared next to the first, though this one wore his normal Kitsune Anbu mask. "Deal with these little brats. I have bigger agendas to attend to. With my plans ruined, I'll have to go about all this a completely different way." The second Menma nodded before the first disappeared in a rush. Just in time it seemed as Kushina Uzumaki sailed through the trees around them, a sword brandished. The clone Menma unsheathed his Excalibur and allowed it to clash with the red head's. Sparks flew in multiple directions as the woman before the clone snarled at him. Pushing away from his sword, Kushina spun in an arch and allowed their swords to clash once again.

"Tell me, exactly what you gain from this!" Kushina snarled as she pushed away from the boy. Natsumi sailed through the air as she tried to land an attack on the cloned version of Menma. said black haired clone simply spun on his heel, kicking her away from his form. She skidded along the ground where she landed beside her mother, whimpering. His cold eyes glared at her from behind his mask. "Well!? Tell me! What exactly do you gain from this? Do you get to say you helped destroy Konoha? Do you want to be known as the man who helped end the Will of Fire!? Huh!? Answer me Naruto!" The Menma clone simply stared at her. Then he slowly rolled his neck.

"What do I gain?" Menma questioned as he stalked forwards with his sword gleaming dangerously. "I gain revenge! I finally get to strike back at those that struck against me! I get to strike back at hypocritical scum like you and your husband! And all of your shinobi for that fact! You carry on and on about how you protect comrades and friends. But it's all a lie! There's no trust in this village! The only people you try to protect are the ones that matters the most at that specific moment! Well guess what, Kushina Namikaze? That moment is here for you. Which comrade do you save now? Who's more important?"

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Who do you save!? The Haruno who is so weak she wasn't even active when I arrived? The Uchiha who this village would have your head for if he was killed? The Hyuuga who is well on her way to metting the Shinigami? Or do you save your own daughter? Mommies little girl? Or perhaps you save those Genin left behind!? Who do you save this time!?" Kushina glared at the boy in front of her. His eyes glared right back as they morphed red and black. "Or perhaps you save them all? Kill yourself. Right now, with your sword. And I'll let them all live." Kushina grit her teeth as she fought against the urge to run herself through with a sword. It was his eyes. But she couldn't look away from them. It was too late. She lifted the sword into the air and pressed the tip to her throat. Her eyes glared into Menma's.

"You won't get away with any of this." Menma chuckled at her before Natsumi's fist slammed into Menma's mask. The boy stumbled sideways as Kushina dropped the sword from her throat and rushed forwards. Menma, out of reaction with his Sharingan, brought his Excalibur up and allowed it to scrape off of his weapon. Slamming the blade of the sword into the ground, Menma kicked himself up off of the ground and allowed his foot to slam into the red head's face. As he landed on the ground, he dropped down to all four as Natsumi's foot swept over him where it then crashed into Kushina's stomach. As the red head bent over, Menma kicked his right leg up and allowed his foot to slam in the blond's chin. Natsumi stumbled backwards in pain as Menma spun on the ground and knocked her onto her back. Kushina, gaining her bearings, brought her sword down to where it would have crashed into Menma's skull. And then, her vision flashed and she shook her head. Stumbling, she looked down to find her sword buried inches away from Hinata's skull.

Menma chuckled darkly as he held Natsumi by her throat. "Amazing, isn't it? The power of Shisui's sharingan. It had so much potential, but he just couldn't unlock it all. Not without having the strength and power to do so. You truly thought you were fighting me, when you were really cutting up the air." Menma's mask turned to gaze at her as he chuckled again. "I find it funny. Kushina Uzumaki, descendant of the ultimate seal master, tricked time and time again by the Sharingan. You're weak Kushina." The red head grasped her skull as a fist implanted itself into her stomach. She gasped as she fought the urge to puke. Struggling to lift her head, she found her eyes starring directly into a normal fully matured Sharingan. "You seem to be having illusions, Kushina. How are you going to save anyone when you're off in your own little world." Kushina glared angrily at the boy before she smirked. From behind, Natsumi's foot finally connected with the side of Menma's face. Stumbling to the side, he reached out to pull Excalibur from the ground. Kushina's foot lashed out at his hand. With a snarl, Menma jumped away, his Kusarigama falling from his sleeves. "I'm done playing games, Namikaze's." Lurching forwards, both of his opponents dived to the side as the pair of Kusarigama lodged themselves into the Earth.

Behind them, the crash of the Shukaku finally falling to the ground shook the Earth as Menma rushed forwards. His weapons slung themselves to Natsumi, whom had begun to pick herself up from the ground. They dug into her back as Menma jerked on the chains harshly. Natsumi was wrenched back towards him as he kicked himself off of the ground. His feet slammed into Natsumi's back before his foot smashed into the side of Kushina's face. The red head stumbled as the pair of Kusarigama were ripped from their resting places. Spinning on his foot, Menma's other foot slammed into the red head's gut, sending her tumbling to the ground, gasping in pain. With a back kick, Natsumi's leg was taken out from under her before Menma brought his foot down on her violently. "I am plagued by pests!" The clone of Menma growled as he grinded his foot into the blonde haired girl's back. "And today, all of you pests die!"

Jiraiya cried out as Nine Demonic beasts attacked him from all angles. The four shinobi Jiraiya had been battling pulled away tiredly before they dropped down into a square formation. As Jiraiya was forced from the roof by the nine attacking monsters, the barrier that the Sound Four had been fighting to achieve found itself placed on top of the roof. Inside, Minato's eyes narrowed dangerously as he heard the sound of ninja sandals clacking loudly. Anbu, just now able to reach their Hokage, came to a dead stop as one of their own crashed into the barrier, immediately causing him to explode into a multitude of pieces. Minato's blue eyes looked from their corners as the newest arrival, and third person inside of the barrier came to stand beside him. "So, it was you all along...?" Minato spoke as he stared at his son's face. The boy's eyes glanced to him before he nodded.

"So it seems, doesn't it?" Menma questioned as he looked at the three coffins that had risen from the rooftop. It seemed that Orochimaru, in desperation, had jumped the gun and began to summon dead people back to life. "It seems your days are numbered now, Orochimaru." Menma spoke as a mask appeared in his hand before placing it upon his skull. Immediately, dark energy surrounded him as the viasage of the Shinigami appeared behind him. With a thrust of his hand, the three caskets blew backwards where they skidded along the ground. Orochimaru snarled in anger as the caskets trembled violently before disappearing. "You think that you can play with the power of the gods, Orochimaru?" Menma questioned in a demonic voice before he removed the mask from his face, slowly. "To think that you believe you can pull souls from the stomach of the Shinigami? You truly are delusional." Menma's eyes met Minato's once again. "We have our differences, father... But today, we have a common enemy."

"And what about the others?" Minato questioned angrily as he turned at an angle where he could glare at both men. "Natsumi, and Kushina, and Hinata... All of the shinobi that I know went to where the Shukaku is burning!? What of them? What have you done to them?" Menma frowned as he raised his hands in the air. Minato frowned deeply at the gestur of peace.

"Believe in me, father. They are fine. Safe. I've left them to rest, and come to ensure that you're safe. Listen to me, this once. Put your faith in me when you couldn't all those years ago." Minato continued to glare at his son before he nodded slowly. Brandishing his kunai, he stood shoulder to shoulder with his newly found son.

"It is a temporary faith. But I need to make sure that I can leave this barrier alive. Now, how about we finish this in a flash... Naruto?" Menma glanced over at the blond headed Hokage before he nodded slowly. As he dropped down into a Taijutsu stance, Orochimaru laughed sadistically.

"Do you think I don't plan for everything!? I've already had two soldiers prepared to back me up the entire time!" Next to the Snake Sanin, the first two Hokage's rose from the rooftop next to Orochimaru, glaring across the rooftop at the father and son duo. "And if you think that I'm going to allow you two to destroy my careful planning, you're mistaken!"

The sounds of thousands of birds ripped through the air as Kakashi appeared above Menma's clone with his Raikiri. The mask wearer's eyes widened as a newly energized Sasuke appeared to his left with his hand encased in a Chidori. Menma's eyes proceed to narrow as he kicked Natsumi's body away. Reaching out with his arms, Menma's hands grasped his two attackers wrists. The air around Menma crackled insanely before a dark purple chakra surrounded by white chakra swarmed around his body. Kakashi and Sasuke screamed in anguish as not only their own attack was redirected back at them, but Menma's own as well. The two fell to the ground, writhing in pain as they fought to keep themselves from passing out. Kushina's foot slammed into the clone's gut, sending him flying back into a tree. The boy grunted as he stood quickly.

Kushina descended upon Menma with her leg cocked to knock him to the ground. Before it could connect with his kull, however, another Menma appeared from the trees and grabbed the red head by her throat. As the second Menma clone revealed himself, the first grinned darkly behind his mask as he lurched into the air. "Spiralling Ring!" The ball of energy slammed into Kushina's abdomen as the second clone released her throat. The red head screamed in pain as she was sent spiralling backwards onto the ground. As the second clone dropped down to the ground, open palm strikes slammed into his body before he vanished from existence, dispersing into shadows. Hinata, having begun her adrenaline rush stood, breathing heavily with her Byakugan activated. As Kushina slammed into the hard ground, and the first Menma clone followed, the lavender eyed girl released a growling noise.

"Nobody... Controls me damn it!" The Menma clone glanced over to her before chuckling. Turning to face the Hyuuga fully, the dark headed clone reached over his shoulder and produced his Kusanagi-No-Tsurugi. Hinata snarled angrily at seeing the sword before she rushed forwards. "I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

Minato ducked underneath a wooden tree branch as the Nidaime rode a wave towards him. The blond haired man dodged to the side, his blue eyes catching the image of Menma's feet slamming into Orochimaru's face. The Snake Sanin released an enraged scream as the black haired boy used the momentum to preform a backflip. Spinning on his heel, Menma's foot slammed into the side of the Shodaime's face. The black haired man stumbled to the side as Menma's other foot slammed into his chest. The ancient warrior flew backwards onto the ground before the ducked underneath a kick from Orochimaru. As he did so, the Nidaime descended upon him, his right hand wrapping around the boy's throat. Snarling, Menma spun around the white haired man's hand before he brought the man to the ground in an armbar. His black eyes barely caught the Shodaime's foot descending upon his skull. Rolling away as the first Hokage's foot slammed into his brother's wrists, Menma rolled his neck. Orochimaru chuckled as the two revived Hokage's found their footing. "Do you honestly believe that you can win? How foolish of you!" Menma watched the Snake Sanin without any emotions on his face.

Hinata threw a Gentle Fist punch at Menma, who dodged backwards to avoid the attack. "Do you believe you can best me, Hinata?" The black haired mask wearer dodged another gentle fist. Her eyes seemed to glow with rage as Menma chuckled at her attempts. "Come now, Hinata! Are you truly going to kill the one you love?" The girl released a scream of rage as the Kitsune mask wearer ducked down underneath a vicious kick. Kicking upwards, Menma's foot crashed into the injured girl's face. She cried out before rushing forwards to attack the black haired clone once again. Said clone grinned darkly under his mask as his eyes bled red once again. As Hinata prepared to run the clone through with her Gentle Fist, he simply phased right through her. As he became tangible again, his kunai attached to chains were produced from his sleeves, wrapping around each other. With a sharp tug, the knives dug into Hinata's body as she was rammed into a tree. As this occured, the chains released themselves from inside of Menma's sleeves and tied themselves behind the tree.

From the tree branches over head, Temari and Kankuro landed, heavily injured. Their eyes surveyed the battlefield as Menma turned his attention from Hinata to Kushina. Sand pooled all throughout the immediate are from wear Shukaku had been defeated. Their brother, Gaara, lay battered on the ground, surrounded by a circle of black flames that burned heavily, inching closer and closer to the red head. Glancing at each other, they nodded quickly and descended to their brother's beaten form. As they did so, Menma's foot crashed into Kushina's skull. Acting quickly, the two grabbed their brother and disappeared back into the trees, just before the black flames could reach and devour their brother. Menma's eyes glanced to the location where Gaara had been before he growled loudly. As Kushina rushed forwards to him, the only Kusarigama left attached to Menma flew from his sleeve before wrapping around her throat. The black haired clone tugged violently on the chain, forcing the older woman to stumble along the ground.

As this occured, Natsumi rushed forwards at Menma, a spiralling blue ball of energy poised in her right hand. With a harsh pull, Kushina slammed into the ground as Menma lifted his left arm. As he did, Natsumi's attack, the Rasengan, slammed into his palm. It sat between the girl and her brother's clone before it disappeared. As Natsumi stumbled away with a shocked expression, Menma's palm was revealed. His glove had been destroyed and allowed any viewer to see the two diamonds on his palm, one on top of the other. "Dark Release: Judgement!" Natsumi screamed in pain as the energy that she had supplied into her Rasengan was blasted back onto her from Menma's hand.

Orochimaru watched in amazement as his two Hokage soldiers were constantly impaled by bone bullets being shot from Menma's fingertips. It was something that Kimimaro was able to do. "I'm tired of this altercation, Orochimaru." Menma spoke as he rushed forwards and allowed his foot to slam into the Shodaime's face. The man stumbled to the side before Menma lashed out with his arm, a bone protruding from his wrist. The Shodaime jumped away, injured from the leathal weapon as his black haired opponent rose to his feet. The First Hokage growled angrily as he rushed forwards to end Menma. As he did so, the black haired boy dodged to the side and grasped ahold of the ancient warrior's wrist. In a yellow flash, Minato appeared next to Menma and implanted a Rasengan in the Shodaime's face. The attack quickly destroyed the man's skull before he was allowed to fall to the ground. Quickly, his body disintergrated into the air. Immediately, Minato dodged underneath a slash from Orochimaru's Kusanagi. Minato spun and threw his Kunai at the Snake Sanin.

Dodging to the side, Orochimaru chuckled as Minato flashed behind him. Tobirama rode a wave straight towards the blond Hokage before his foot slammed into the younger man's face. Minato stumbled away as Menma's Excalibur met head on with Orochimaru's Kusanagi. The two snarled at each other as sparks danced across their blades. Ducking, Minato was just able to dodge a kick sent by the Nidaime Hokage. The white haired man spun on his foot and lashed out with a follow up, which was quickly dodged by the current Hokage. As the blond dodged backwards, a kunai sent by the Nidaime slammed into Minato's shoulder. The blue eyed man grit his teeth in pain as he ducked underneath a second kunai knife.

Jiraiya grunted heavily as his bleeding form stood surrounded by Menma's Nine Masked Beasts. They circled him like vultures as one of his arms dangled at his side, useless. "What are you waiting for? An invite!?" Jiraiya called as he fought to keep his left eye open. As he did so, the beast opened up a small walkway, allowing an unmasked Menma to form from shadows and walk between them. Jiraiya gritted his teeth as he stared into the eyes of the sixteen year old. "So it was you, huh? All this time, we were looking for you... You were over in Ame!" Menma glared at the older man before he chuckled loudly.

"Looking for me? You people condemned me in the first place! And you think that when judgement was cast on this vullage that I would vouch for it?" Jiraiya released a noise from his throat as he glared at the black haired boy. "My plans may have been ruined due to a few unseen circumstance... But this day is far from over, Jiraiya." The white haired man watched as the boy discarded his upper layer of clothes. "And while we wait for it to be over, I have a certain experiment to test out." Menma grinned as black lightning like patterns spread over his body. His hair increased in length until it was at his shoulders. Two wnigs in the shape of giant hands with spike like nails extended from his back. Large portruding bone spikes emerged from his chest and elbows as he rolled his neck. Menma's head lolled backwards for a moment with his eyes closed before they snapped open. It revealed his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, except that his sclera had turned back. "So it was as expected. The power of the curse mark was transfered from the Kaguya as well as his powers." Menma grinned sadistically as he began to march towards his Godfather. "Prepare yourself, Jiraiya... for death!"


End file.
